The pace of job growth slowed in February (+311,000), the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6%, and the labor participation rate remained steady as they have since January 2022.
Leisure and hospitality added 105,000 jobs in February, followed by retail trade (+50,000), government (+46,000), professional and business services (+45,000), health care (+45,000), and construction (+24,000). The information industry lost 25,000 jobs while transportation and warehousing lost 22,000 jobs.
Average hourly earnings for all employees increased modestly at 0.2% in February, with the average workweek for all employees edging down by 0.1 hour and slightly more for production and non-supervisory employees (0.2 hours). This may be impacted by more women coming back into the workforce.
Although quits rate decreased, it remains historically high – especially in retail trade, leisure and hospitality, and construction.
Outlook: Continued strong labor market data will likely cause the Fed to increase interest rates further, as elevated wages continue to pressure company profits.