Employment Situation
February 2025 | Released March 07, 2025
From January 2025 to February 2025:
- Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 151K.
- Private sector payroll employment increased by 140K
- Government payroll employment increased by 11K.
- The headline unemployment rate (U-3) increased by 0.1 percentage
points to 4.1 percent.
- The broadest measure of unemployment (U-6, which adds
underemployment to unemployment), increased by 0.5 percentage points to
8.0 percent.
- The labor force participation rate (LFPR) decreased by 0.2
percentage points to 62.4 percent.
From January 2025 to February 2025:
- The best performing sectors were Education and Health
Services (+73K) and Trade, Transportation, and
Utilities (+21K).
- The worst performing sectors were Leisure and
Hospitality (-16K) and Retail Trade
(-6.3K).
From February 2024 to February 2025:
- The best performing sectors were Education and Health
Services (+943K) and Government (+391K).
- The worst performing sectors were Professional and Business
Services (-88K) and Manufacturing (-88K).
From February 2024 to February 2025:
- For all employees on private nonfarm payrolls:
- Average nominal weekly earnings increased by 3.42 percent.
- Average nominal hourly earnings increased by 4.02 percent.
- For production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm
payrolls:
- Average nominal weekly earnings increased by 3.8 percent.
- Average nominal hourly earnings increased by 4.11 percent.
Table 1. Labor Indicators
|
|
Feb 2025
|
Jan 2025
|
M/M change
|
Feb 2024
|
Y/Y change
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payroll jobs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nonfarm
|
159.218M
|
159.067M
|
151K
|
157.271M
|
1.947M
|
|
Private
|
135.603M
|
135.463M
|
140K
|
134.047M
|
1.556M
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unemployment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Official rate (U-3)
|
4.1%
|
4.0%
|
0.1pp
|
3.9%
|
0.2pp
|
|
Broader rate (U-6)
|
8.0%
|
7.5%
|
0.5pp
|
7.3%
|
0.7pp
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Labor force participation rate
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
16 years and over
|
62.4%
|
62.6%
|
-0.2pp
|
62.6%
|
-0.2pp
|
|
Prime age (25-54 years)
|
83.5%
|
83.5%
|
0.0pp
|
83.5%
|
0.0pp
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Employment-to-Population Ratio
|
59.9%
|
60.1%
|
-0.2pp
|
60.1%
|
-0.2pp
|
Table 2. Earnings Indicators
|
|
Feb 2025
|
Jan 2025
|
M/M change
|
Feb 2024
|
Y/Y change
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Production and non-supervisory
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hourly earnings
|
$30.89
|
$30.80
|
0.29%
|
$29.67
|
4.11%
|
|
Weekly earnings
|
$1,037.90
|
$1,034.88
|
0.29%
|
$999.88
|
3.80%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All employees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hourly earnings
|
$35.93
|
$35.83
|
0.28%
|
$34.54
|
4.02%
|
|
Weekly earnings
|
$1,225.21
|
$1,221.80
|
0.28%
|
$1,184.72
|
3.42%
|
Table 3. Revisions
|
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Net revision
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nonfarm jobs added
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2024
|
227K
|
212K
|
261K
|
34K
|
|
October 2024
|
12K
|
36K
|
43K
|
31K
|
|
September 2024
|
254K
|
223K
|
255K
|
1K
|
Table 4. Comparison to ADP Estimate
|
|
BLS
|
ADP
|
Difference
|
|
Private nonfarm jobs added
|
140K
|
77K
|
63K
|
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; JEC Republicans calculations
“pp” = percentage points; “M/M” = month over month; “Y/Y” = year over
year
Consistent with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, monthly figures are
seasonally adjusted. Discrepancy in change figures is possible due to
rounding.