February jobs report subverts economists' expectations after a seemingly strong start to the year

The employment situation report for February was released on Friday, showing a slowdown after an ostensibly strong start to the year.

The United States lost 92,000 nonfarm jobs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick compared to January, rising 0.1% to 4.4% in February.

The Hill reported that economists were confronted with an unexpected downturn in total jobs, saying they generally expected the United States to add 60,000.

Additionally, The Hill marked a concerning trend, reporting that the BLS revised December 2025's initial gain of 48,000 jobs to a loss of 17,000 jobs.

However, consistent with previous trends in President Trump's first year, the federal government accounted for 10,000 of those jobs losses. BLS reported that federal employment is down by 330,000, or 11% of the federal workforce.

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The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick compared to January, rising 0.1% to 4.4% in February.

"Just as the January jobs report overstated any emerging strength in the labor market, the February employment data give a false impression of deteriorating labor market conditions," Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics, said in an email to CBS News on Friday.

The employment situation report for March is scheduled to be released on April 3.

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