The U.S. job market showed steady growth in February, with an addition of 151,000 jobs and average wages increasing by 4% year-on-year. However, the unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, pointing to potential weaknesses as layoffs surged to over 172,000, the highest since early 2020. Federal government cuts included 10,000 jobs, and the IRS and Veterans Administration are expected to announce further job losses. Despite positive trends, the stability of the labor market is being tested amidst federal downsizing efforts, leading to a cautious outlook ahead.
"This is a really big number in terms of what we've ever recorded," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at the firm. "The fact that we've reached that level so quickly this year is surprising to us and certainly something worth taking note of."
"This is like putting a hole in the boat and you don't have any life rafts or anything," said Eddie Walker, who represents about 1,500 unionized IRS workers. In context, this illustrates the impending crisis in federal employment.
Collection
[
|
...
]