FX.co ★ US Economy Loses 92K Jobs in February

The US economy shed 92K jobs in February 2026, the largest monthly loss in four months, following a downwardly revised 126K gain in January and sharply missing expectations for a 59K increase. Health care employment fell by 28K, largely due to strike activity: offices of physicians lost 37K jobs, while hospitals added 12K. Employment in information (-11K) and the federal government (-10K) continued to trend lower. Additional declines occurred in transportation and warehousing (-11K) and manufacturing (-12K). In contrast, employment in social assistance continued to rise (+9K), driven by a 12K increase in individual and family services. Revisions to prior data showed that December’s change in total nonfarm payrolls was revised down by 65K, from a gain of 48K to a loss of 17K, and January’s figure was revised down by 4K, from 130K to 126K. Taken together, employment in December and January is now 69K lower than previously reported. Overall, payroll employment changed little on net in 2025.