By Tom Burnett CFA
On March 7, 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its Employment Report for February 2025. Total employment rose by 151,000, somewhat less than the 12-month average increase of 168,000 over the past year. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.1%. The rate has been range bound between 4.0% and 4.2% since May 2024. Job seekers rose slightly to 7.1 million, still less than the latest job openings figure of 7.6 million (JOLTS Report February 4, 2025).
Average hourly earnings for nonfarm payroll workers rose $0.10 to $35.93, up 4.0% from the prior year.
Revisions to previous reports totaled a decrease of 2,000 from December and January.
The next Employment Report will be issued on April 4, 2025.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research