Healthcare payrolls stopped by 28,000 after a walkout at Kaiser Permanente sidelined more than 30,000 workers throughout the study week, temporarily reducing reported employment.
Wage development, however, still ran hotter than expected, with typical per hour revenues up 0.4% on the month and 3.8% year over year.
“Well, that was awful. February’s employment data misses the mark across the board,” Bankrate senior financial analyst Mark Hamrick said.
“Workforce involvement, determining those working and trying to find work was up to 62%, a worrying indication that some workers were dissuaded amidst the softening seen over the previous year.”
San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly said the report highlights that “the hopes that the labor market was steadying, maybe that was too much,” pointing to inflation “printing above target and oil prices increasing” as reasons authorities had to stay careful.