Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jul 14, 2025

The US added 379,000 jobs in February, signaling the recovery is finally gaining steam

The US added 379,000 jobs in February, signaling the recovery is finally gaining steam

The US economy added 379,000 jobs last month, far more than economists had expected, signaling the labor market recovery is finally gaining steam.

The January numbers were also revised sharply higher to 166,000 added jobs versus 49,000 initially reported.

The leisure and hospitality industry added the most jobs in February with 355,000 new positions as some restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19 were rolled back. The sector is still recovering from a rough winter, adding back positions that were lost rather than creating new jobs.

The unemployment rate — which only counts people who are actively seeking jobs and not those who have dropped out of the workforce entirely — inched down to 6.2% from 6.3% in January. It was forecast to stay flat.

Economists agree that the official jobless rate is likely under-reporting how many people are actually unemployed as a result of the pandemic.

For example, 4.2 million people who have dropped out of the labor force were prevented from looking for a new job due to the pandemic in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

"Today's report does show green shoots of recovery," said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor. "But I also think the report is a little bit weaker than the headline numbers show."

So Friday's good news is only part of the recovery story.

America is still down 9.5 million jobs from February last year. While that number is finally going down, millions of workers have to rely on government help to make ends meet. Despite the good news in Friday's report, "there's still a lot of wood to chop," said BMO senior economist Sal Guatieri.


On Thursday, the Labor Department reported more than 18 million people received benefits under the government's various programs in the week ended February 13.

And the labor force participation rate was flat at 61.4% in February. It hasn't been this low since the 1970s.

The unequal recovery


Economists and politicians are calling the recovery "K-shaped" because it isn't working for everyone. While many white-collar workers and people invested in the stock market have seen their wealth increase through the pandemic, lower-wage earners have struggled to pay for basic necessities.

A look at how the different demographic groups fared in February offers more proof of the unequal recovery, though economists caution that month-to-month data can be volatile.

The Asian unemployment rate dropped to 5.1% last month from 6.6% before, marking the biggest improvement of any demographic group measured in the report.

White and Hispanic jobless rates inched down by 0.1 percentage point each, to 5.6% and 8.5%, respectively.

Both Asian and Hispanic employment was likely driven by the gains in the hospitality and leisure industry, in which both groups are disproportionately represented, Zhao said.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for Black workers went the other way: jumping to 9.9% from 9.2% before. The current rate is "just shy of the high-water mark in the Great Recession," wrote Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

"One of the big concerns for the recovery going forward is that a rising tide does not lift all boats," Zhao said.

In February 2021, before the pandemic hit, the Black jobless rate stood at 6%. So if the White unemployment rate is too high at 5.7% during the pandemic, it means the Black unemployment rate wasn't low enough in normal times, Zhao added.

"Passing large-scale relief measures now is an economic and racial justice imperative," said Gould.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
×