Did DOGE impact hiring in February? Here's the latest jobs report.

Did DOGE impact hiring in February? Here’s the latest jobs report.

Posted by author March 7, 2025 Jobs

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Employers added 151,000 jobs in February, a solid but unspectacular number, the Labor Department reported Friday, providing a snapshot of a labor market that has recovered from January’s bitter cold and has not yet felt the full brunt of DOGE.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%.

Economists had forecast employers would add 160,000 to 170,000 jobs in February, up from 125,000 in January, signaling a strong month of gains. Labor officials had first reported 143,000 new jobs in January, but on Friday, they revised that figure downward. Forecasts had suggested the unemployment rate would remain at 4%, a historically low figure.

“Today’s jobs report reflects a market trying to balance itself as consumer confidence falls and economic uncertainty persists,” said Ger Doyle, U.S. country manager at ManpowerGroup. “It’s a tense time, and many [employers] are still waiting to see how things unfold before making their next move.”

Stock market futures edged up Friday morning, signaling investor relief that the job market remains reasonably stable.

Employment inched up in February in health care, transportation and financial activities, among other sectors. Federal employment declined by 10,000, reflecting the first cuts by the federal Department of Government Efficiency under the new Trump administration.

The February report captures an economy in transition. It comes too soon to measure most of the massive federal job cuts unleashed by President Donald Trump and advisor Elon Musk. The survey period centers on the week of Feb. 12, before many of those cuts were announced.

Instead, the job numbers give a glimpse “of the labor market after two full weeks of the Trump administration, and likely serve as a continued reminder that President Trump inherited a solid labor market,” said Daniel Hornung, former deputy director of the National Economic Council, speaking before the report’s release.

Given the turbulence of recent weeks, analysts said, any positive job tidings are welcome news.

“A steady-as-she-goes job market would be akin to a win in these uncertain times,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. “Hiring has recently been slowing, and consumers are increasingly pressured by high prices and restrictive interest rates, and worry is building, as seen in measures of consumer confidence.”

Consumer confidence, measured by the nonprofit Conference Board, registered its largest monthly decline since 2021 in February.

Jobs report comes at an uncertain time for employers

Businesses are struggling to plan for the future, and they may be delaying investment and hiring plans out of uncertainty about Trump’s unpredictable trade policies, said Kevin Rinz, senior fellow and research advisor at the left-leaning Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

More broadly, Rinz said, “uncertainty driven by recent White House policies and the associated theatrics is creating economic headwinds.”

The February jobs report delivered a final monthly read on the labor market before the newest wave of tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, enacted on Tuesday (and, in some cases, swiftly dialed back). Many economists expect the import taxes to seed inflation, and some envision layoffs.

“The economy has already gotten off to a poor start this year because of an unusually cold January, L.A. wildfires and surge in policy uncertainty,” said Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “The tariffs will likely only fan concerns that the poor start to the year could morph into something worse.”

U.S. employers in January added 143,000 jobs. The January report was taken in the week of Jan. 12 and reflected labor-market performance before Trump took office, on Jan. 20. Still, payroll gains for the previous two months were revised up by 100,000.

Other jobs reports paint a bleaker picture of the economy

Another jobs report, released Thursday by the career consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, painted a bleaker picture.

U.S. employers announced 172,000 job cuts in the full month of February, the consultancy reported, the highest total for that month since 2009, when the nation was mired in the Great Recession.

The February figure is more than double the number of job cuts announced in February 2024.

The federal government announced 62,000 job cuts across 17 agencies in February, Challenger reported. By contrast, the feds announced 151 job cuts in the first two months of 2024.

“Private companies announced plans to shed thousands of jobs last month, particularly in retail and technology,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency actions, as well as canceled government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February.”

Another analysis, released Wednesday, showed sluggish job creation in the private sector.

Private firms added 77,000 workers in February, down from 186,000 in January, according to ADP, a human resources management company.

“Policy uncertainty and a slowdown in consumer spending might have led to layoffs or a slowdown in hiring last month,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “Our data, combined with other recent indicators, suggests a hiring hesitancy among employers as they assess the economic climate ahead.”

(This story was updated to add new information.)