February US Nonfarm Payrolls Fall Unexpectedly, Unemployment Rate Rises

08:41 AM EST, 03/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The February employment report showed nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000, well below the 55,000 jobs increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, while January payrolls were revised down to a 126,000 increase and December payrolls were revised down to a 17,000 decrease for a net downward revision of 69,000 jobs.

Private payrolls fell by 86,000 in February after a 146,000 increase in January, below the increase of 60,000 private jobs expected. Health care jobs fell by 18,600 while leisure and hospitality jobs declined by 27,000.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in February from 4.3% in January, compared with expectations for no change, while the labor force participation rate slipped to 62.0% from 62.1% in January and the size of the labor force rose only slightly.

Hourly earnings rose by 0.4%, faster than the 0.3% gain expected, and following a 0.4% increase in January. Hourly earnings were up 3.8% year-over-year, up from 3.7% in the previous month.

The average workweek remained at 34.3 hours, as expected.

The monthly employment report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics consists of two separate surveys and is considered the most important data release for the month. The survey of businesses measures the levels of employment and wages and the length of the average workweek, broken down by industry.

The survey of households measures the number of people working or looking for work, the unemployment rate, those that have left the workforce and reasons for part-time work.

Market reaction can be mixed, particularly when the two surveys disagree. A strong increase in employment or a decline in the unemployment rate is generally a positive for stocks as sign of a strong US economy, but bonds would react negatively to the same news, particularly if wages rise sharply at the same time.

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