OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) — U.S. employers shed 92,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate held at 4.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The decline was driven in part by health‑care losses linked to strike activity, along with continued downward trends in information and federal government employment.
Health‑care payrolls fell by 28,000 in February, including a 37,000‑job loss in physicians’ offices, while hospitals added 12,000 positions. Federal employment declined by 10,000 and is down 330,000 since its October 2024 peak. Information employment also continued its slide, falling by 11,000.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% to $37.32, up 3.8% over the year. The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.0%, and the share of people employed part time for economic reasons declined by 477,000 to 4.4 million.
Revisions lowered December and January employment estimates by a combined 69,000 jobs.
