February 2026 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 edged down by 92,000 in February, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment in health care decreased, reflecting strike activity. Employment in information and federal government continued to trend down.

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

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.6 million, changed little in February. (See table A-1. See the note at the end of this news release and tables A and B for more information about the annual population adjustments to the household survey estimates.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.0 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (14.9 percent), and people who are White (3.7 percent), Black (7.7 percent), Asian (4.8 percent), or Hispanic (5.2 percent) showed little or no change in February. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.9 million in February but is up from 1.5 million a year earlier. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25.3 percent of all unemployed people in February. (See table A-12.)

Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.0 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 59.3 percent, changed little in February. These measures showed little change over the year, after accounting for the annual adjustments to the population controls. (See table A-1. For additional information about the effects of the population adjustments, see the note at the end of this news release and table B.)

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons decreased by 477,000 to 4.4 million in February. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job changed little in February at 6.0 million. 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, decreased by 109,000 in February to 366,000. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment edged down by 92,000 in February, following an increase in January (+126,000). Employment in health care decreased in February, reflecting strike activity. Employment in information and federal government continued to trend down. Payroll employment changed little on net in 2025. (See table B-1.)

Health care employment declined by 28,000 in February, following a large increase in January (+77,000). Offices of physicians lost 37,000 jobs in February, primarily due to strike activity. Hospitals added 12,000 jobs. Over the prior 12 months, health care had added an average of 36,000 jobs per month.

Employment in information continued to trend down in February (-11,000). The industry had lost an average of 5,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months.

In February, federal government employment continued to decline (-10,000). Since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment is down by 330,000, or 11.0 percent.

Employment in social assistance continued its upward trend in February (+9,000), driven by individual and family services (+12,000).

Transportation and warehousing employment changed little in February (-11,000). A job loss in couriers and messengers (-17,000) was partially offset by a gain in air transportation (+5,000). Employment in transportation and warehousing has declined by 157,000, or 2.4 percent, since reaching a peak in February 2025.

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

In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $37.32. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8 percent. In February, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 9 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $32.03. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

In February, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.3 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 40.1 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 3.0 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.8 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised down by 65,000, from +48,000 to -17,000, and the change for January was revised down by 4,000, from +130,000 to +126,000. With these revisions, employment in December and January combined is 69,000 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.)

Adjustments to Population Estimates for the Household Survey

Effective with revised data for January 2026, updated population estimates were incorporated into the household survey. Population estimates for the household survey are developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. Each year, the Census Bureau updates their population estimates to incorporate new information on births, deaths, and migration to estimate the change in population since the most recent decennial census. The Census Bureau population update also includes improvements in estimation methodology.

The 2026 update was delayed by a month due to the 2025 federal government shutdown. With the release of February data, all household survey data for January 2026 were revised to incorporate the new population estimates. (Household survey estimates for January 2026 have been updated in the BLS database. However, the January 2026 Employment Situation news release will not be reissued.) Over-the-month comparisons of February data with revised January data are not affected by the population control adjustment, although comparisons with earlier months may be affected.

This year, changes to Census Bureau methodology include the incorporation of updated demographic information about the population from the 2020 Census. This marks a departure from the "blended base" introduced in recent years that combined population totals from the 2020 Census and demographic characteristics from other sources. The new population estimates also include updated information about a decline in net international migration. The January 2026 adjustment reflects changes back to the April 2020 Census population base, even though the entire adjustment is incorporated in the January 2026 household survey estimates.

While the net effect of the updated 2020 Census base on the total population level was relatively small, shifts in the demographic composition of the population had notable impacts on labor force measures.

The updated 2020 Census base resulted in a decrease in the population level for men (mostly among those ages 25 to 54), while the population level for women increased (particularly among those age 65 and over). A decline in the number of men ages 25 to 54 (who tend to have higher labor force participation rates than other groups) and an increase in the number of women age 65 and over (who generally have lower labor force participation rates than other groups) both put downward pressure on the overall labor force participation rate. These population changes had similar impacts on employment and the overall employment-population ratio. The unemployment rate was unaffected.

In addition, the updated 2020 Census base resulted in some notable population differences across race groups. There were decreases in both the White population and the Black or African American population, while there were substantial increases in the Asian population and people in other race groups, including those who are two or more races. (People who report two or more races are not included in the individual race groups.) There was relatively little change in the number of people who are Hispanic or Latino. (People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race.)

In accordance with usual practice, BLS did not revise the official household survey estimates for December 2025 and earlier months. However, to show the impact of the population adjustments, table A displays differences in selected December 2025 labor force series based on the old and new population estimates.

These annual population adjustments can affect the comparability of household data series over time. Table B shows the effect of the introduction of new population estimates on the change in selected labor force measures between December 2025 and January 2026. The example in table B can be replicated to account for an over-the-year comparison, where the effect of the 2026 population control would be subtracted from the over-the-year change to remove the effects of the population control adjustment.

Population controls for veterans, which are derived from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs population model and are updated periodically, did not change with data for January 2026.

Although the official series for December 2025 and earlier will not be revised, BLS is planning to provide an update to the experimental series that were originally introduced with the 2025 population control adjustment. These experimental time series account for the size and timing of the updated population control adjustments back to the April 2020 Census base. These experimental series are not available with this news release but will be available as soon as practicable at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.

Additional information about the population adjustments and their effects on national labor force estimates is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.