US Sheds 92,000 Jobs In February As Economic Uncertainty Grows

The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, failing to meet expectations of economists and adding to uncertainty already being fueled by the war in Iran.

Also, corrections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revised job numbers down again for 2025. The corrections mean that the job market for 2025 was much more stagnant than what was first reported by the government. Initially, job growth was pegged at 584,000, but that was revised down to 181,000. With the new corrections, it now sits at just 109,000 jobs added for all of 2025.

The February decrease in jobs was in sharp contrast to January, when the economy robustly added 126,000 jobs.

“I think it just tells us that the hopes that the labor market was steadying, maybe that was too much,” Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, told CNBC. “We also have inflation printing above target and oil prices rising. How long they last, we don’t know, but both of our goals are in our risks now.”

CNN reported that February failed to meet the expectations of economists who expected job growth to slow in February, but still thought that the economy would add 60,000 jobs, not shed 92,000.

“This is an uncertain macro and global macro environment, and we’ve seen how that uncertainty affects hiring,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at payroll company ADP, told CNN.

The Trump administration released a statement blaming labor strife and bad weather as contributing factors for the negative February report.

“While record-breaking strikes and bad winter weather dragged down February nonfarm employment, the unemployment rate held steady, and there are several positive signs for our economy that continue to show American workers are recovering from the mess left behind by Biden,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.

“President Trump has successfully reignited wage growth, which continued to accelerate in February – rising 3.8 percent year over year. Factory workers’ wages in particular have improved from a $830 loss to an impressive $2,400 gain under the Trump Administration,” she said.

The jobs report, combined with anxiety regarding the Iran war saw the Dow Jones futures fall 600 points as oil prices continued to rise, Business Insider reported.