Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in February, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 %, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment trended up in health care, financial activities, transportation and warehousing, and social assistance.

Federal government employment declined.

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.1%, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.1 million, changed little in February. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0%. to 4.2 % since May 2024.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for Whites (3.8 %) increased in February. The jobless rates for adult men (3.8 %), adult women (3.8 %), teenagers (12.9 %), Blacks (6.0 %), Asians (3.2 %), and Hispanics (5.2 %) showed little change over the month.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.5 million, changed little in February. The long-term unemployed accounted for 20.9% of all unemployed people.