According to the report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday, the overall unemployment rate increased last month to 4.1% from 4% in January. Wage growth in the non-farm sector was also weak, according to the data.
These unemployment figures for February were released amid efforts by President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency under Elon Musk to reduce the federal workforce. According to Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, the effects of these cuts have not yet been seen, and further uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. economy and tariff decisions may impact hiring.
“This is the calm before the storm,” she said. “For the most part, we’re not yet seeing cuts in the data.”
Among Black men aged 20 and older, the unemployment rate noticeably decreased to 5.5% in February from 6.9% in January. This last figure shows a drop to December levels, when the unemployment rate among Black men in this group was 5.6%.
The unemployment rate for Black women in February was 5.4%, remaining stable from January and December. These results came after the rate spiked to 5.9% in November last year. In comparison, the unemployment rate among Black workers in February decreased to 6% from 6.2% in January.
“You see significant volatility month to month. It's a bit hard to ignore the huge drop in the unemployment rate among Black men… that’s a positive indicator,” Gould said.
The unemployment rate for Spanish-speaking women in February increased to 5.1% from 4.5% the previous month. Latino men saw a similar jump in unemployment, rising to 4.6% from 4.0% in the previous month.
The unemployment rate for white women increased to 3.4% in February from 3.3%, while for white men it rose to 3.5% in February from 3.1%. The overall unemployment rate for white workers increased to 3.8% in February from 3.5% in January.
Among Asian workers, the unemployment rate decreased to 3.2% in February from 3.7% the previous month.
Rick Rieder, Chief Investment Officer for Global Fixed Income at BlackRock, said the February payroll report contains “a lot of caveats.”
“For example, the survey was conducted after a period of significant job displacement in California, associated with wildfires and other adverse weather conditions in the U.S., amid changes in immigration patterns, more worker strikes, and the beginning of the impact of DOGE on federal government employment,” he said.