Nonfarm payroll employment in the US increased by 151,000 in February, falling short of expectations, while the unemployment rate edged up slightly to 4.1%.
These were the first full-month figures under the new Trump administration and come amidst large-scale cuts to federal government jobs by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
However, these cuts did not influence the February data much, as they mostly commenced after the mid-month snapshot.
They will instead be evident in the March data published next month.
Beyond the impact of government job cuts, Cebr expects the ongoing uncertainty around US economic policy, specifically tariffs, to pose a downside risk to the labour market and the wider economy in the coming months.
