The February 2022 Jobs Report shows that the job market stays strong with the U.S. economy seeing a slight decrease in unemployment and the number of jobs added rise more than expected. According to the most recent report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) payroll grew by 678,00 and the number of unemployed persons edged down to 6.3 million in February. Prior to the pandemic in February 2020, the unemployment rate was 3.5%, with unemployed persons at 5.7 million.
Unemployment edged down slightly in February 2022 at 3.8%
Unemployment saw a very slight decline to 3.8% from 4.0% the month prior. College-degreed professionals 25 years and older saw a minor decrease in the unemployment rate to 2.2% from 2.3%. Job seekers with some college or an associate degree increases slightly from 3.6% in January to 3.8% in February.
Leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, healthcare, transportation and warehousing, retail trade and financial activities continued to see job gains
Jobs added by industry:
- Leisure and Hospitality 179,000 jobs added
- Professional and Business Services 95,000 jobs added
- Healthcare 64,000 jobs added
- Transportation and Warehousing 48,000 jobs added
- Retail Trade 37,000 jobs added
- Financial activities 35,000 jobs added
Specifically, temporary help services saw 36,000 new jobs added in professional and business services.
Wage growth was little unchanged in February 2022
Per the most recent BLS report, in February average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was little unchanged (+1 cent) at $31.58 after large increases recently. Wages were little changed on the month and up 5.1% for the year, well below expectations.
