Economy Gains 379,000 Jobs in February; Unemployment Down to 6.2%

The U.S. economy gained 379,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.2%, according to figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In response to the February job numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:

Most of February’s job gain (moving right on the chart) came from leisure & hospitality, higher wage industries (moving up on the chart) posted milder job gains (professional services including temps, education and health, retail trade), or modest job losses. @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/QUfY0MvLlo

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) March 5, 2021

State and local government employment declined in February. As in the Great Recession, state and local government employment is a big drag on a healthy recovery. It is vital the Senate pass @POTUS American Recovery Act now and get state and local governments the assurance to hire pic.twitter.com/2G7xCGLISh

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) March 5, 2021

The share and the number of long term unemployed continue to climb. This makes clearing the labor market difficult and slow. Extended unemployment benefits will be necessary to keep these workers engaged even as the labor market improves. @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/yvfwXfjWjv

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) March 5, 2021

The long-term unemployed ARE heterogenous, they are NOT just production and service workers. The longest unemployment spells are for managers and professionals and they are almost 1/4 the long-term unemployed. This is why solutions aren’t easy. @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/LnF6ng6lwC

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) March 5, 2021

From the flow data for February (from January), women were less likely to enter the labor force from not being in the labor force, but more likely to exit unemployment to find jobs. The unemployed were more likely to find jobs than to quit looking. @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/8SPVStIMMd

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) March 5, 2021

The Black unemployment rose in February for all the wrong reasons, the share employed fell. Black women (over 20) rose from 8.5 to 8.9%. The unemployment rate for Black men (over 20) 10.2% is higher than the high school dropout unemployment rate of 10.1% @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/3UBIpQY35y

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) March 5, 2021

245,000 of this months payroll gains (out of 379,000) went to women, but his doesn’t show in the household survey (they are not similar surveys and do not necessarily cross-walk) for Black women, who reported a drop in employment. @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/diEYCp4NaJ

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) March 5, 2021

Last month’s biggest job gains were in leisure and hospitality (+355,000), health care and social assistance (+46,000), retail trade (+41,000) and manufacturing (+21,000). The biggest losses were in construction (-61,000), local government education (-37,000), state government education (-32,000) and mining (-8,000). Employment changed little in other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities and other services.

In February, the unemployment rate increased for Black Americans (9.9%). The unemployment rates for teenagers (13.9%) and Asians (5.1%) declined. The rates for Hispanics (8.5%), adult men (6.0%), adult women (5.9%) and White Americans (5.6%) showed little or no change.

The number of long-term unemployed workers (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) barely changed in February and accounted for 41.5% of the total unemployed.