U.S. Job Creation Rebounds in February

The U.S. economy added 379,000 jobs in February, making the first positive move in three months, reported the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unexpected increases were driven by large job gains in the nation’s service and entertainment industries as the economy continues to recover. The jobs data was the strongest since October, resulting from a ramp-up in vaccination efforts and the easing of restrictions on businesses as COVID cases moderate. The 379,000 gain follows on a loss of 140,000 jobs in December and a loss of 447,000 jobs in January.

In January, nonfarm employment was still below its pre-pandemic February 2020 level by 9.5 million jobs or 6.2%. Figure 1 shows the total number of nonfarm employed people in the U.S. since 2000.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

David Schollaert

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