Job growth in February was weaker than expected as the Trump administration began to reduce the federal workforce.
Total nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 151,000 in the month, better than the downwardly revised 125,000 in January but still short of the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 170,000, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.1%.
The report comes amid efforts by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency to shrink the federal government, starting with buyout incentives and including massive layoffs that have hit multiple departments.
While the cuts may not be fully felt for months to come, their effects are already being felt. Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, even as overall government employment rose by 11,000, according to the BLS.
