Employment Rose by 151,000, Unemployment Steady at 4.1%

Washington, DC, March 7, 2025-Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in February, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. 

Employment trended up in healthcare, financial activities, transportation and warehousing, and social assistance. Federal government employment declined.

Says the Wall Street Journal, “The U.S. continued to generate jobs at a steady pace in February, offering reassurances that the labor market has remained relatively stable since President Trump took office.

“The U.S. added a seasonally adjusted 151,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported Friday, slightly below the gain of 170,000 jobs economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected to see.

“That was better than the 125,000 jobs added in January.

“The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs figures, rose to 4.1% from 4%.

“Economists believe that the cuts to federal government jobs that have come since Trump took office came too late to be captured in the February figures. But the report did show a loss of 10,000 federal government jobs over the month, unusual both because it is a decline and because it is such a large one.”