Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning. Read the full thread here. 

Today’s jobs report was much weaker than expected. Payroll jobs fell 92k in Feb, and revisions to Dec data show a loss of 17k jobs. Average job growth over the last 3 months now under 6k.

Household survey population controls indicate a significant drop in the labor force.

#NumbersDay #EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Mar 6, 2026 at 7:48 AM

Job losses in Feb were most acute in health care, due to striking workers who have since gone back to work. Notable losses as well in leisure and hospitality and educational services. Job were added in financial activities and social assistance. On net, 92k job losses for Feb.

#EconSky #NumbersDay

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Mar 6, 2026 at 8:03 AM

Manufacturing jobs fell again, down 12,000 between January and February 2026. Since January 2025, the manufacturing sector has lost 100,000 jobs. I repeat: The manufacturing sector lost 100k jobs since Trump took office.

#EconSky #NumbersDay

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Mar 6, 2026 at 8:19 AM

Attacks on the federal workforce continue. Federal employment has shrunk an alarming 327,000 jobs since January 2025. The vital services federal employees provide cannot be done without these essential workers. The cost of these losses are only beginning to be felt.
#EconSky #NumbersDay

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Mar 6, 2026 at 8:19 AM

The overall unemployment ticked up slightly in February, while the unemployment rate rose for Black, Asian, and Hispanic workers. Notably volatile series, but Black unemployment is now back up at 7.7% compared to only 3.7% for white workers.
#EconSky #NumbersDay

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Mar 6, 2026 at 8:51 AM