The U.S. added 151,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate rose to 4.1 percent in the first jobs report covering President Trump’s second term.
The monthly employment report, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed the job market holding steady amid rising economic concerns and slumping consumer confidence.
Most economists forecasts projected a solid gain of 150,000 jobs with a slight tick higher in the jobless rate for February. But experts were on guard for an unexpectedly bad report after weeks of sluggish economic data, mass federal layoffs and the impact of Trump’s new tariffs.
A significant spike in corporate layoffs reported by employment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas stoked further concerns Thursday.
U.S. companies cut more than 172,000 jobs in February, according to the Challenger report released Thursday, the most in any month since July 2020. It was also the highest number of February layoffs since 2009.
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