The United States economy added 275,000 jobs while the unemployment rate increased to 3.9 percent in February 2024, according to “The Employment Situation” (PDF) monthly jobs report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS jobs report showed changes in employment occurred in the following industry sectors during the month.
- Health care added 67,000 jobs in February 2024, above the average monthly gain of 58,000 jobs over the prior 12 months.
- Government added 52,000 jobs in February 2024, about the same as the prior 12-month average gain of 53,000 jobs.
- Food services and drinking places added 42,000 jobs in February 2024, after changing little over the prior 3 months.
- Social assistance added 24,000 jobs in February 2024, about the same as the prior 12-month average gain of 23,000 jobs.
- Construction added 23,000 jobs in February 2024, in line with the average monthly gain of 18,000 jobs over the prior 12 months.
- Transportation and warehousing added 20,000 jobs in February 2024, but employment in the industry is down by 144,000 jobs since reaching a peak in July 2022.
- Retail trade added 19,000 jobs in February 2024 and has shown little net change over the year.
- Employment in mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, information, financial activities, professional and business services, and other services changed little in February 2024.
The BLS jobs report revealed that the change in total employment for December 2023 was revised from 333,000 jobs added to 290,000 jobs added while January 2024 was revised from 353,000 jobs added to 229,000 jobs added. With these revisions, employment in December 2023 and January 2024 was 167,000 jobs lower than previously reported.
“The Employment Situation” is usually released by the BLS on the first Friday of every month. The jobs report for March 2024 is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 5, 2024. The BLS jobs report is available online each month at www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm and www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf.
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Thomas Ahearn - Digital Content Editor
Thomas Ahearn is a Digital Content Editor at ClearStar, a leading Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. He writes about a variety of topics in the background screening industry including Artificial Intelligence (AI), "Ban the Box," class action lawsuits, credit reports, criminal records, drug testing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), identity theft, privacy, social media screening, and workplace violence.
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