February 2024 Employment Situation

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 275,000 in February, and the unemployment rate increased to 3.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care, in government, in food services and drinking places, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage point to 3.9 percent in February, and the number of unemployed people increased by 334,000 to 6.5 million. A year earlier, the jobless rate was 3.6 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 6.0 million. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women (3.5 percent) and teenagers (12.5 percent) increased over the month. The jobless rates for adult men (3.5 percent), Whites (3.4 percent), Blacks (5.6 percent), Asians (3.4 percent), and Hispanics (5.0 percent) showed little or no change in February. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers increased by 174,000 to 1.7 million in February. The number of people on temporary layoff was little changed at 827,000. (See table A-11.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.2 million, was little changed in February. The long-term unemployed accounted for 18.7 percent of all unemployed people. (See table A-12.)

In February, the labor force participation rate was 62.5 percent for the third consecutive month, and the employment-population ratio was little changed at 60.1 percent. These measures showed little or no change over the year. (See table A-1.)

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.4 million, changed little in February. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

In February, the number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 5.7 million, was little changed. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force changed little at 1.6 million in February. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, was little changed at 425,000 in February. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 275,000 in February, above the average monthly gain of 230,000 over the prior 12 months. In February, job gains occurred in health care, in government, in food services and drinking places, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing. (See table B-1.)

Health care added 67,000 jobs in February, above the average monthly gain of 58,000 over the prior 12 months. In February, job growth continued in ambulatory health care services (+28,000), hospitals (+28,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+11,000).

Government employment rose by 52,000 in February, about the same as the prior 12-month average gain (+53,000). Over the month, employment continued to trend up in local government, excluding education (+26,000) and federal government (+9,000).

Employment in food services and drinking places increased by 42,000 in February, after changing little over the prior 3 months.

Social assistance added 24,000 jobs in February, about the same as the prior 12-month average gain of 23,000. Over the month, job growth continued in individual and family services (+19,000).

Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 20,000 in February. Couriers and messengers added 17,000 jobs, after losing 70,000 jobs over the prior 3 months. In February, job growth also occurred in air transportation (+4,000), while warehousing and storage lost 7,000 jobs. Employment in the transportation and warehousing industry is down by 144,000 since reaching a peak in July 2022.

In February, employment continued to trend up in construction (+23,000), in line with the average monthly gain of 18,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, heavy and civil engineering construction added 13,000 jobs.

Retail trade employment changed little in February (+19,000) and has shown little net change over the year. Over the month, job gains in general merchandise retailers (+17,000); health and personal care retailers (+6,000); and automotive parts, accessories, and tire retailers (+5,000) were partially offset by job losses in building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (-6,000) and electronics and appliance retailers (-2,000).

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services.

In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 5 cents to $34.57, following an increase of 18 cents in January. Average hourly earnings were up by 0.1 percent in February and 4.3 percent over the year. In February, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees edged up by 7 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $29.71. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

In February, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours, following a decline of 0.2 hour in January. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at 39.9 hours, and overtime increased by 0.2 hour to 3.0 hours in February. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.3 hour to 33.8 hours, following a decline of 0.3 hour in January. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised down by 43,000, from +333,000 to +290,000, and the change for January was revised down by 124,000, from +353,000 to +229,000. With these revisions, employment in December and January combined is 167,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)