The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, according to data released March 6 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a figure that came in well below economists’ expectations and pointed to continued caution in hiring across the labor market.
The February reading also marked a sharp drop from January, when payroll gains were revised to 126,000 jobs. That figure itself stood well above the agency’s updated data for 2025, when employers added just 181,000 jobs over the entire year, averaging roughly 15,000 jobs a month. The contrast highlights how uneven hiring trends have been in recent months as businesses remain cautious about expanding their workforce.
Over the past year, the U.S. economy has continued to expand even as job growth has slowed, suggesting that productivity per worker may be rising. David Royal, chief financial and investment officer at Thrivent, said artificial intelligence could be playing a role in boosting productivity, though he cautioned that it is still too early to say AI is fully responsible for the widening gap between GDP growth and employment.
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“I don’t think companies really know the impact of AI on employment either,” as Royal shared with USA TODAY. “They’re not ready to let people go, but they don’t want to hire a bunch of people because they’re not sure they’re going to need them, and I think that’s what’s driving the low-hire, low-fire environment.”
The unemployment rate edged up to 4.4 percent in February, compared with 4.3 percent in January and 4.1 percent a year earlier. Ahead of the report, Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said that lower levels of immigration and an aging workforce mean the economy now needs fewer new jobs each month to keep the unemployment rate stable.
Health care, which is usually a reliable source of job growth, saw employment fall by 28,000 in February. The drop followed a revised increase of 77,000 jobs in January. Much of the decline appears to be tied to a large strike by workers at Kaiser Permanente that took place during the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ survey period.
Employment in the information sector declined in February, with the industry losing about 11,000 jobs. The federal government also reduced its workforce, cutting another 10,000 positions during the month.
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One of the few areas that posted gains was social assistance, which added around 9,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, employment levels in several other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, and trade, remained largely unchanged in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wage growth has also been uneven across income groups. Pay for higher-income workers rose 4.2 percent over the past year in February, while wage growth for middle-income workers slowed to 1.2 percent and lower-income workers saw gains of just 0.6 percent during the same period, according to a report from the Bank of America Institute.
A separate report released March 5 by Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed employers announced 48,307 job cuts in February. That figure was down 55 percent from January and 72 percent lower than the number announced in February 2025.
Even so, many job seekers say the market remains difficult. Recent college graduates are competing in a hiring landscape increasingly shaped by AI, and many workers are reluctant to leave their current roles out of concern they may struggle to find another job.