CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Economy Sheds 92,000 Jobs as Unemployment Edges Up to 4.4 Percent

The establishment survey showed employers shed 92,000 jobs in February, as almost every major sector shed jobs. With downward revisions to the prior two months’ data, and December now showing losses, the average gain over the last three months is just 6,000 jobs. Nearly every major sector had lost jobs in the month, including health care and social assistance, which showed a loss of 18,600 jobs, partly due to strikes in the sector.

It is likely that the job losses reported in February were at least partly due to bad weather, following an unusually good January prior to the reference period. This could partly explain a gain in construction employment of 48,000 reported in January, followed by a loss of 11,000 in February. But even allowing for a role for weather, the last three months’ data show a weakening labor market.

January Gains in Household Survey Largely Reversed in February Data

In addition to the modest rise in unemployment reversing January’s drop, the improvements in other areas reported in January were also largely reversed. There was a large jump in the share of unemployment due to quits in January, rising from 11.1 percent to 13.8 percent. This fell back to 11.4 percent in February. The willingness of workers to quit a job without another one lined up is an indication of their perception of the strength of the labor market. The February share is extraordinarily low given a 4.4 percent unemployment rate.

There were drops in the duration measures of unemployment in January, which were partially or completely reversed in February. The average duration of unemployment spells rose to 25.7 weeks, the highest level since February of 2022.

There were two areas of improvement that continued in February. There was another drop in the number of people working part-time........

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