The situation on the US labor market has worsened. The Unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 4.4 percent in February. The bottom line is that 92,000 non-agricultural jobs were lost, according to a government report. Analysts, however, had expected additional jobs to be created.
The Labor Ministry attributed the worsening situation to strikes in the health sector. Nurses had temporarily stopped working to achieve better conditions.
Fewer new jobs than previously estimated
According to the Ministry of Labor, 130,000 new jobs were created in January. However, revisions to labor market figures in the report suggest that the world’s largest economy added significantly fewer jobs last year than previously estimated – an average of 15,000 per month instead of 49,000.
Since taking office again President Donald Trump Just over a year ago, the employment situation initially deteriorated. The unemployment rate has now risen to its highest level since the corona pandemic; in November 2025 it was 4.5 percent. After a slight recovery to 4.3 percent in January, it has now risen slightly again. Experts highlighted, among other things, the uncertainty among companies Trump’s tariff policy responsible, but also the Reduction of jobs through artificial intelligence.