February Jobs Report: Employers added 275K jobs; Unemployment rate at 3.9% – My MBA Career

Last Updated on March 9, 2024 by Robert C. Hoopes

In February, U.S. employers added a whopping 275,000 jobs despite economic uncertainty, according to the latest report. However, the good news was tempered by the fact that payroll gains for December and January were revised downwards by 167,000.

The unemployment rate also saw a slight increase from 3.7% to 3.9% in February, while average hourly pay rose to $34.57. The yearly increase in wages decreased slightly from 4.4% to 4.3%.

Despite the positive job numbers, the Federal Reserve is expected to start cutting interest rates in June as job growth is expected to slow down in 2024. Industries with the most job gains in February included health care, leisure and hospitality, government, construction, transportation, warehousing, and retail.

The labor force participation rate held steady at 62.5%, but job gains have been gradually slowing despite sharp interest rate hikes by the Fed. Expectations for the job market improvement in 2024 are mixed, with layoffs predicted to increase and job gains expected to slow to 50,000-100,000 a month by spring and summer.

It remains to be seen how these trends will impact MBA graduates entering the job market. Stay tuned for more updates on job market trends and how they could affect your MBA career.