NEW YORK, March 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, contrary to expectations for a 50,000 gain and also a sharp decline from a downwardly revised January total of 126,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.
February marked the third time in the past five months that nonfarm payrolls declined, with December registering a sharply revised 17,000 drop.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent in February as a result of job decline.
Federal government employment continued to decline in February, falling by 10,000. Since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment has been down by 330,000 or 11 percent, thanks to U.S. President Trump's effort to pare federal payrolls. Under the hit of artificial intelligence, information service lost 11,000 jobs. Manufacturing lost 12,000.
Following the report, traders pulled forward expectations for the next Federal Reserve rate cut to July and expected two more cuts before the end of this year, according to the CME Group's FedWatch gauge. ■
