The US Labor Market Is Starting to Look Vulnerable
Despite a big jump in payrolls for February, the underlying weakness can no longer be denied.
The labor market can be deceiving.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Coming just hours after the State of the Union speech, the Biden administration is no doubt trumpeting the news Friday that the US economy added 275,000 jobs in February, which was well more than the 200,000 that economists expected. White House officials may want to hold off on celebrating just yet.
Despite the big beat, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised lower its estimates of how many workers were added to payrolls in December and January. All told, some 167,000 fewer jobs were created in those months than first reported. The January revision – which lowered the number for that month by 124,000 - is especially disappointing, because the initial report led many economists to rethink their sour views of the economy.