February 2025 Jobs Report: Hiring Remains Steady Amid Uncertain Future

The United States economy added 151,000 jobs in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, a slight increase from January. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%.

The largest gains came from healthcare (+52,000), finance (+21,000), transportation (+18,000), and social assistance (+11,000). The BLS also reported a decline in 10,000 jobs in government employment.

Other recently reported economic data includes:

• Wages year-over-year increased 4.0% in February.
• Job gains were adjusted for December and January, resulting in a total decrease of 2,000 jobs across the two months.
• The Consumer Price Index, an inflation measure representing costs paid by households and consumers, rose to 3.0% for the first time since June 2024.
• Private employment increased by 77,000 jobs, according to ADP. It’s the smallest increase since July, with ADP’s chief economist noting that “policy uncertainty and a slowdown in consumer spending might have led to layoffs or a slowdown in hiring last month.”

Despite the steady growth in February, many economists and analysts are uncertain about the jobs economy in the future, citing new economic policies and unpredictability around how they will affect the greater economy. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., a outplacement firm, reported there were over 172,000 job cuts in February alone, the most since July 2020. Many of those cuts, as reflected in the BLS report, came from the government sector. Cuts also came in retail and tech.

The Federal Reserve also has decisions to make regarding interest rate cuts at their next meeting on March 18-19, which, as it has for the last couple of years, will impact the jobs market and decisions companies will make regarding hiring.