Jobs Report February 2026 BLS

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- FEBRUARY 2026

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.)

 

The Employment Situation for March is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 3, 2026,

at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

 

Adjustments to Population Estimates for the Household Surv

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.

 

Table A shows that the adjustment decreased the estimated size of the civilian noninstitutional

population age 16 and over in December by 231,000. However, the adjustment increased the

number of people not in the labor force by 1.2 million and decreased both the total civilian

labor force and the number of employed people by 1.4 million each. The adjustment lowered the

labor force participation rate by 0.4 percentage point and lowered the employment-population

ratio by 0.5 percentage point. The adjustment had little effect on the total unemployment

level (+15,000), and the unemployment rate was unchanged.

 

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody  GA Tea Party Leader