Total U.S. jobs

The U.S. economy added 151,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in February, marking the 50th consecutive month of job growth and an increase from January’s 125,000 gain. While the labor market remains resilient, job growth in early 2025 has not been as robust as it was in late 2024. Total nonfarm payroll employment has reached a record 159.22 million, surpassing the pre-pandemic peak of February 2020 by 6.93 million jobs—an increase of 4.5% over the past five years.

The unemployment rate inched up from 4.0% in January to 4.1% in February, though it remains historically low. The number of unemployed individuals rose to a three-month high, increasing from 6.85 million to 7.05 million. At the same time, the number of employed individuals declined from a record 163.90 million to 163.31 million. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate dipped from 62.6% to 62.4%, its lowest level since January 2023.  

Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in the private sector rose 0.3% in February, matching the average monthly increase over the past year but easing slightly from January’s 0.4% gain. On a year-over-year basis, wages grew by 4.1%, in line with the pace observed since early 2024. While the recent moderation in wage growth has leveled off, the broader trend remains one of steady cooling since the peak of 7.0% in March 2022.

While wage growth remains solid, workers are putting in slightly fewer hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees held steady at 33.6 hours in February, unchanged from both January and November. Over the past four years, average weekly hours have declined notably, down from a peak of 34.4 in early 2021. Job growth in February was mixed. There was strong growth reported for private education and health services; trade, transportation, and utilities (with the exception of retail trade); and local government. However, employment declined for leisure and hospitality (including eating and drinking places), professional and business services, and the federal government. The private sector contributed 140,000 new jobs, while government employment increased by 11,000. Below is a detailed breakdown of sector employment changes for February, ranked from highest to lowest:

• Private education and health services: +73,000
• Financial activities: +21,000
• Trade, transportation, and utilities: +21,000 (retail trade: -6,300)
• Local government: +20,000
• Construction: +19,000
• Manufacturing: +10,000
• Information: +5,000
• Mining and logging: +5,000
• Other services: +4,000
• State government: +1,000
• Professional and business services: -2,000
• Federal government: -10,000
• Leisure and hospitality: -16,000 (eating and drinking places: -27,500)

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