Employment

Add Topic

Stocks falter over February jobs report. Did DOGE impact hiring?

Employers added 151,000 jobs in February, a solid but unspectacular number, the Labor Department reported Friday, providing a snapshot of a labor market that has recovered from January’s bitter cold and has not yet felt the full brunt of the Department of Government Efficiency.&nbsp;

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%.

Economists had forecast employers would add 160,000 to 170,000 jobs in February, up from 125,000 in January, signaling a strong month of gains. Labor officials had first reported 143,000 new jobs in January, but on Friday, they revised that figure downward. Forecasts had suggested the unemployment rate would remain at 4%, a historically low figure.&nbsp;

"Today’s jobs report reflects a market trying to balance itself as consumer confidence falls and economic uncertainty persists," said Ger Doyle, U.S. country manager at ManpowerGroup. "It’s a tense time, and many (employers) are still waiting to see how things unfold before making their next move.”

Stocks opened higher Friday morning, then drifted downward, as investors digested an employment report that had fallen short of expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.8% at midday. The S&P 500 was down 1%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 1.4%. Those numbers left the market with little to celebrate at the end of a brutal week on Wall Street.

"February’s weak job growth is particularly disappointing since it came after the bad weather and wildfires of January cleared," said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. "Ordinarily, the job market bounces back quickly from weather or natural disasters, but not this time."

Employment inched up in February in health care, transportation and financial activities, among other sectors. Federal employment declined by 10,000, reflecting the first cuts by the federal Department of Government Efficiency under the new Trump administration.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump rolled out his own job numbers and cited two overarching goals for his administration: to favor private sector jobs over government positions, and to prioritize "native-born Americans" over immigrants.

The February report captures an economy in transition. It comes too soon to measure most of the massive federal job cuts unleashed by Trump and adviser Elon Musk. The survey period centers on the week of Feb. 12, before many of those cuts were announced.&nbsp;

Instead, the job numbers give a glimpse “of the labor market after two full weeks of the Trump administration, and likely serve as a continued reminder that President Trump inherited a solid labor market,” said Daniel Hornung, former deputy director of the National Economic Council, speaking before the report's release.&nbsp;

Given the turbulence of recent weeks, analysts said, any positive job tidings are welcome news.&nbsp;

“A steady-as-she-goes job market would be akin to a win in these uncertain times,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. “Hiring has recently been slowing, and consumers are increasingly pressured by high prices and restrictive interest rates, and worry is building, as seen in measures of consumer confidence.”

Consumer confidence, measured by the nonprofit Conference Board, registered its largest monthly decline since 2021 in February.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Jobs report comes at an uncertain time for employers

Businesses are struggling to plan for the future, and they may be delaying investment and hiring plans out of uncertainty about Trump’s unpredictable trade policies, said Kevin Rinz, senior fellow and research advisor at the left-leaning Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

More broadly, Rinz said, “uncertainty driven by recent White House policies and the associated theatrics is creating economic headwinds.”&nbsp;

The February jobs report delivered a final monthly read on the labor market before the newest wave of tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, enacted on Tuesday (and, in some cases, swiftly dialed back). Many economists expect the import taxes to seed inflation, and some envision layoffs.&nbsp;

“The economy has already gotten off to a poor start this year because of an unusually cold January, LA wildfires and surge in policy uncertainty,” said Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “The tariffs will likely only fan concerns that the poor start to the year could morph into something worse.”&nbsp;

U.S.  added 143,000 jobs. The January report was taken in the week of Jan. 12 and reflected labor-market performance before Trump took office, on Jan. 20.&nbsp;Still, payroll gains for the previous two months were revised up by 100,000.

Japanese Endocrinologists Warn Reason Behind High Glucose Levels in US

The 2025 Outlander Is Close To Perfection (Take A Look)

*   
*   
*   
*   

© 2025 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC.
```