US loses 92,000 jobs in February as AI worries loom

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Total nonfarm payroll employment edged down by 92,000 in February, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.4 percent ... Employment in health care decreased, reflecting strike activity. Employment in information and federal government continued to trend down." Job losses were primarily seen in the healthcare, federal government, warehousing, transportation, and couriers and messenger industries.

The unemployment rate in January was 4.3 percent, which had previously been at 4.4 percent in December, so the figure has remained relatively unchanged over the past few months. "The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.9 million in February but is up from 1.5 million a year earlier. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25.3 percent of all unemployed people in February," the press release added.

The overall job losses in February come as the market is adjusting to the implementation of AI in the workplace. Reports on Thursday indicated that tech giant Oracle would be cutting thousands of jobs over AI implementation. Jack Dorsey's company Blocks also announced that they would be cutting around 4,000 jobs at the beginning of March.

Although 92,000 jobs were lost on net in February, average hourly earnings for employees increased by 15 cents, up to $37.32 an hour. The average workweek hours for employees in the labor force remained unchanged, with an average of 34.3 hours.

Healthcare, which has been the primary driver of increased payrolls, saw a loss of 28,000 jobs because of strikes at Kaiser Permanente that pushed 30,000 workers out of the job.