Link Securities | The Department of Labour reported that the US economy generated 151,000 net new non-agricultural jobs in February, up from the 125,000 jobs created in January (143,000, initial estimate), although somewhat below the 160,000 net jobs projected by FactSet consensus analysts. The December figure was revised upwards to 323,000 jobs from an initial estimate of 307,000 jobs. During the month, jobs were created in the healthcare sector (52,000 jobs), specifically in outpatient healthcare services (26,000); in financial activities (21,000); in transport and storage (18,000); and in social assistance (11,000). Federal government employment, meanwhile, fell by 10,000, which already reflects part of the impact of the DOGE layoffs. There were also job losses in retail (6,000) and employment showed little change in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; information; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
In February, 140,000 net private non-farm jobs were created, slightly less than the 147,000 new private jobs expected by analysts.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the United States rose in February to 4.1% from 4.0% in the previous month, exceeding the 4% reading expected by analysts. The number of unemployed increased by 203,000 to 7.05 million, while employment decreased by 588,000 to 163.31 million. In turn, the labour force participation rate also fell to 62.4% (62.6% in January), and the employment-to-population ratio decreased to 59.9%.
It should also be noted that average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% in February compared to January, while the year-on-year rate was 4.0%. Analysts expected an increase in this variable similar to the actual month-on-month figure and 4.1% year-on-year.
Finally, it should be noted that the average number of hours worked per week remained stable in February at 34.1 hours, slightly below the 34.2 hours projected by the consensus.
Assessment: the employment data released on Friday in the US show an economy that continues to create jobs at a steady pace. There was a lot of fear among investors that the erratic and unpredictable policy of the new US administration had begun to take its toll on the country’s labour market. For the moment, it seems that this is not the case. This week we will be able to see if it is having an effect on consumer confidence when the University of Michigan publishes the preliminary reading for March of its consumer sentiment index on Friday.
