U.S. Employment Unexpectedly Slumps In February, Unemployment Rate Ticks Higher

(RTTNews) - Employment in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of February, according to a closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The report said non-farm payroll employment slumped by 92,000 jobs in February after jumping by a downwardly revised 126,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to increase by 60,000 jobs compared to the addition of 130,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected pullback partly reflected a decrease in healthcare employment, which fell by 28,000 jobs primarily due to strike activity.

The Labor Department also noted employment in information and federal government continued to trend down, dipping by 11,000 jobs and 10,000 jobs, respectively.

The report also said the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4 percent in February from 4.3 percent in January, in line with economist estimates.

The uptick by the unemployment rate came as the household survey measure of employment tumbled by 185,000 persons, while the labor force edged up by 18,000 persons.

"The job market is softening and inflation is expected to increase due to a spike in oil prices resulting from the war in Iran," said Mortgage Bankers Association SVP and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.

He added, "Although this month's job numbers were weaker than expected, we do not expect the FOMC to cut rates any time soon given the heightened inflation risk."

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said average hourly employee earnings climbed by $0.15 or 0.4 percent to $37.32 in February.

The annual rate of growth by average hourly employee earnings crept up to 3.8 percent in February from 3.7 percent in January.