Almost every major industry group shed jobs in February [View all]

Heather Long @byHeatherLong (Chief economist @NavyFederal)
Key takeaways from the dismal February jobs report:

1) US firms aren't hiring with all this uncertainty
2) The US has LOST jobs since May 2025.
3) We're back to 4.4% unemployment rate, one of the highest rates since 2021.
4) Healthcare had been the only bright spot, but even that was -28,000 in February (due to strikes)
5) Young workers and workers of color are struggling the most.



Heather Long @byHeatherLong
Yikes. Almost every major industry group shed jobs in February.

Private sector overall: -86,000
Hospitality -27,000
Healthcare -28,000
Manufacturing -12,000
Tranport/warehouse -11,000
Construction -11,000
Information -11,000
Federal gov't -10,000
Professional/biz -5,000
Mining -2,000
Social assistance +9,000
Finance +10,000



Heather Long @byHeatherLong 1h
Important point: February was a dismal jobs report.
But look closer at who is suffering the most in this frozen job market...

Young people
African Americans
Hispanic Americans
Asian Americans

These are the groups that have had the biggest uptick in unemployment rates.




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