Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in February and the unemployment rate fell changed little at 4.1%.
- Consensus was a gain of 160,000 jobs.
- The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised up by 16,000, from +307,000 to +323,000, and the change for January was revised down by 18,000, from +143,000 to +125,000. With these revisions, employment in December and January combined is 2,000 lower than previously reported.
- Healthcare added 52,000 jobs in February, financial activities added 21,000, and transportation and warehousing rose by 18,000.
- Federal government employment fell by 10,000.
- In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by $0.10 to $35.93.
- The average workweek for all private employees was unchanged at 34.1 hours in February.
- The labor force participation rate changed little over the month at 62.4%.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor employment.