Throughout February, several widely monitored labor reports indicated there could be bearish news when the official monthly employment numbers came in on March 7—including the ADP Report, Challenger Report, and weekly jobless claims. But the official US data showed just a marginal change. The unemployment rate increased from 4.0% in January to 4.1% in February, according to the Census Bureau. Nonfarm payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 151,000 in February, while the January number was revised down to 125,000.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, March 11, 2025.