According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. labor market maintained its growth momentum in February 2024, adding 257,000 new jobs, surpassing the average monthly gain of 230,000 over the previous 12 months.
Despite this expansion, the unemployment rate experienced a slight increase to 3.9 percent, still marking the 25th consecutive month below the 4% threshold. In February, the unemployment rate edged up by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9 percent, with the number of unemployed individuals rising by 334,000 to 6.5 million. Comparatively, a year earlier, the jobless rate stood at 3.6 percent, with 6.0 million unemployed individuals.
Average hourly earnings saw a modest uptick of 5 cents, reaching $34.57. Notably, industries experiencing the most growth included healthcare, government, and food services.
The report also revealed notable growth in several key sectors of the economy. Health care added 67,000 jobs, surpassing the average monthly gain of 58,000 over the past year. Similarly, the government sector saw an increase of 52,000 jobs, in line with its average monthly gain of 53,000 over the same period. In the food services and drinking places industry, there was a notable increase of 42,000 jobs after experiencing minimal change over the previous three months. Social assistance also contributed to job growth, adding 24,000 jobs, aligning with its average monthly gain of 23,000 over the past year. However, despite these gains, the transportation and warehousing sector continued to face challenges, with a modest increase of 20,000 jobs, yet remaining down by 144,000 since its peak in July 2022.
Data as of March 8th, 2024 | Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
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