Unemployment Rate
4.4$
Nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 92,000 and the unemployment rate changed little from 4.3% in February. Healthcare jobs declined, reflecting strike activity, and federal government jobs continued to decrease.
The labor force participation rate was 62%. Average hourly earnings rose 15 cents (0.4%) to $37.32. The average workweek was unchanged at 34.3 hours.
According to the American Staffing Association, temporary help employment was 1.54% of total nonfarm employment in February.
Major Industry Employment
Notable Gains and Losses
- Financial Activities: +10,000
- Wholesale Trade: +6,000
- Government: -6,000
- Construction: -11,000
- Transportation and Warehousing: -11,300
- Manufacturing: -12,000
- Healthcare and Social Assistance: -18,600
- Leisure and Hospitality: -27,000
Read the full report at BLS.gov.
Monthly revisions may occur due to additional reports received since the latest published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors. For more information, visit BLS.gov.
Workforce and Economic News
The US Unexpectedly Loses 92,000 Jobs, Adding to Worries About the Economy
NPR – March 6, 2026
Job losses were widespread across manufacturing, construction, government, and even health care, though wages continued to rise 3.8% year over year. Employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs in February, and earlier gains were revised downward, signaling the labor market is weakening rather than stabilizing.
What It Takes to Be a Great Workplace in 2026
Forbes – March 4, 2026
Great workplaces will be defined less by perks and more by how well they help employees feel valued, safe, and prepared for the future amid economic volatility and AI-driven change. Most critically, companies that invest in career mobility and skills development, including AI-enabled learning and personalized growth paths, will be best positioned to attract, retain, and future-proof top talent.
The Case for Calm in an Always-on Workplace
Fast Company – March 9, 2026
Always-on, software-driven workplaces are boosting activity but quietly eroding focus, judgment, and long-term performance as constant alerts and context switching exhaust teams. Leaders who design for calm by reducing cognitive load, consolidating tools, protecting deep work time, and prioritizing decision quality over speed enable better thinking, stronger collaboration, and fewer costly rework cycles.
America Employed
Insights from Express Employment International
Gen Z Leads a 66% Surge in Self-Taught Job Skills, Creating a Verification Headache
ExpressPros.com – February 25, 2026
From YouTube crash courses to TikTok tutorials promising “job‑ready skills in under 10 minutes,” self‑taught learning is exploding, and it’s beginning to reshape resumes across the country.
A recent Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey shows 74% of job seekers and 71% of hiring managers believe skills learned through informal online platforms are credible. Yet with nearly half of job seekers (47%) now adding these self‑taught skills to their resumes, employers say evaluating them is becoming more challenging than ever.
86% of US Hiring Managers Say AI Makes It Too Easy to Exaggerate Skills on Resumes
ExpressPros.com – February 11, 2026
A new Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll reveals a startling truth about today’s hiring landscape: job seekers may be stretching the truth on their resumes far more than they admit — and employers say they can spot the exaggerations a mile away.
According to U.S. hiring managers, 80% say candidates’ resumes don’t match their real-world skills at least sometimes, with 34% reporting it happens all the time or often. Meanwhile, just 22% of job seekers confess to listing skills they don’t actually have; a gap raising major red flags for employers.
