February Job Loss Not as Bad as Expected

Washington, DC, March 6, 2009--The U.S. economy lost 651,000 jobs in February, according to the Labor Department.

The number was in line, or slightly below, economists' expectations.

However, it was the fourth month in a row where job losses were near or above 600,000.

The unemployment rate rose to 8.1% in February, the highest rate in over 25 years.
 
Job losses in February were close to expectations, while the unemployment rate was above forecasts of 8.0%.

The economy has lost 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, with more than half coming in the last four months.

The consensus of private forecasters is for the unemployment rate to get close to 9% next year.

Job losses were widespread across industries. Only education and health services reported job gains
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According to the survey of business establishments, 660,000 jobs were lost in the private-sector in February. Goods-producing industries shed 276,000 jobs, while services lost 375,000.
 
Construction employment fell by 104,000 in February and the industry has shed 904.000 jobs since the recession began.