Washington, DC…Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 379,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The labor market continued to reflect the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In February, most of the job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, with smaller gains in temporary help services, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and manufacturing. Employment declined in state and local government education, construction, and mining.

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| Effect of Severe Winter Storms on Employment Estimates |
| |
| Severe winter weather occurred in much of the country during the February reference |
| periods for the establishment and household surveys. For information on how weather |
| can affect data on employment and hours, see Question 8 in the Frequently Asked |
| Questions section of this news release. |
|_______________________________________________________________________________________|

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey
measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The
establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For
more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two
surveys, see the Technical Note.

Household Survey Data

Both the unemployment rate, at 6.2 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at
10.0 million, changed little in February. Although both measures are much lower than
their April 2020 highs, they remain well above their pre-pandemic levels in February 2020
(3.5 percent and 5.7 million, respectively). (See table A-1. See the box note at the end
of this news release for more information about how the household survey and its measures
were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for Asians declined to 5.1 percent
in February. The rates for adult men (6.0 percent), adult women (5.9 percent), teenagers
(13.9 percent), Whites (5.6 percent), Blacks (9.9 percent), and Hispanics (8.5 percent)
showed little or no change. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of persons on temporary layoff fell by 517,000 in
February to 2.2 million. This measure is 1.5 million higher than the level a year
earlier but is down considerably from the recent high of 18.0 million in April 2020. The
number of permanent job losers, at 3.5 million, was essentially unchanged in February
but is 2.2 million higher than a year earlier. (See table A-11.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 4.1 million,
changed little over the month but is up by 3.0 million over the year. In February, these
long-term unemployed accounted for 41.5 percent of the total unemployed. The number of
persons jobless less than 5 weeks, at 2.2 million, also changed little over the month.
(See table A-12.)

The labor force participation rate remained at 61.4 percent in February. This measure is
1.9 percentage points lower than the value a year earlier. The employment-population
ratio, at 57.6 percent, changed little over the month but is down by 3.5 percentage
points over the year. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 6.1 million, changed
little in February but is up by 1.7 million over the year. These individuals, who would
have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been
reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

In February, the number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was
6.9 million, little changed over the month but up by 1.9 million over the year. These
individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for
work during the last 4 weeks or were unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who currently want a job, the number of persons
marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.9 million, was essentially unchanged in
February but is up by 453,000 over the year. These individuals wanted and were available
for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for
work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of
the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, was 522,000
in February, little changed from the previous month but up by 121,000 over the year.
(See Summary table A.)

Household Survey Supplemental Data

In February, 22.7 percent of employed persons teleworked because of the coronavirus
pandemic, down from 23.2 percent in January. These data refer to employed persons who
teleworked or worked at home for pay at some point in the last 4 weeks specifically
because of the pandemic.

In February, 13.3 million persons reported that they had been unable to work because
their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic–that is, they did not work
at all or worked fewer hours at some point in the last 4 weeks due to the pandemic.
This measure is down from 14.8 million in January. Among those who reported in February
that they were unable to work because of pandemic-related closures or lost business,
10.5 percent received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not worked,
down from 12.7 percent in January.

Among those not in the labor force in February, 4.2 million persons were prevented from
looking for work due to the pandemic. This measure is down from 4.7 million in January.
(To be counted as unemployed, by definition, individuals must be either actively looking
for work or on temporary layoff.)

These supplemental data come from questions added to the household survey beginning in
May 2020 to help gauge the effects of the pandemic on the labor market. The data are not
seasonally adjusted. Tables with estimates from the supplemental questions for all
months are available online at
www.bls.gov/cps/effects-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm.

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 379,000 in February but is down by 9.5
million, or 6.2 percent, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. In February of
this year, most of the job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, with smaller gains
in temporary help services, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and
manufacturing. Employment declined in state and local government education, construction,
and mining. (See table B-1. See the box note at the end of this news release for more
information about how the establishment survey and its measures were affected by the
coronavirus pandemic.)

In February, employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 355,000, as pandemic-
related restrictions eased in some parts of the country. About four-fifths of the
increase was in food services and drinking places (+286,000). Employment also rose in
accommodation (+36,000) and in amusements, gambling, and recreation (+33,000).
Employment in leisure and hospitality is down over the year by 3.5 million, or 20.4
percent.

Within professional and business services, temporary help services added 53,000 jobs in
February but is down by 175,000 from a year ago.

Employment in health care and social assistance increased by 46,000 in February. Health
care employment was little changed over the month (+20,000), following a large decline
in the prior month (-85,000). In February, job gains in ambulatory health care services
(+29,000) were partially offset by losses in nursing care facilities (-12,000).
Employment in social assistance rose by 26,000, mostly in individual and family
services (+18,000). Employment in health care and social assistance is down by 909,000
over the year.

Retail trade added 41,000 jobs in February. Job growth was widespread in the industry,
with the largest gains occurring in general merchandise stores (+14,000), health and
personal care stores (+12,000), and food and beverage stores (+10,000). These gains were
partially offset by a loss in clothing and clothing accessories stores (-20,000).
Following steep job losses in March and April of 2020 (-2.4 million jobs over the 2
months combined), retail trade has added 2.0 million jobs from May through February.

Manufacturing employment increased by 21,000 over the month, led by a gain in
transportation equipment (+10,000). Employment in manufacturing is down by 561,000 over
the year.

In February, employment declined in local government education (-37,000) and state
government education (-32,000). For both industries, February losses partially offset
gains in January. Pandemic-related employment declines in 2020 distorted the normal
seasonal buildup and layoff patterns in the education sector, making it more challenging
to discern the current employment trends in these industries.

Employment in construction fell by 61,000 in February, largely reflecting declines in
nonresidential specialty trade contractors (-37,000) and heavy and civil engineering
construction (-21,000). Severe winter weather across much of the country may have held
down employment in construction. Employment in the industry is 308,000 below its level a
year earlier.

Mining shed 8,000 jobs in February, with losses occurring in support activities for
mining (-6,000) and in oil and gas extraction (-2,000). Mining has lost 153,000 jobs
since an employment peak in January 2019, though nearly two-thirds of the loss has
occurred over the past year.

In February, employment changed little in other major industries, including wholesale
trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and other
services.

In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls
increased by 7 cents to $30.01. Average hourly earnings for private-sector production
and nonsupervisory employees, at $25.19, changed little (+4 cents). The large employment
fluctuations over the past year–especially in industries with lower-paid workers–
complicate the analysis of recent trends in average hourly earnings. (See tables B-3 and
B-8.)

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.3 hour
to 34.6 hours in February. In manufacturing, the workweek declined by 0.2 hour to 40.2
hours, and overtime declined by 0.1 hour to 3.1 hours. The average workweek for
production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.4 hour
to 34.0 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised down by 79,000,
from -227,000 to -306,000, and the change for January was revised up by 117,000, from
+49,000 to +166,000. With these revisions, employment in December and January combined
was 38,000 higher than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional
reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published
estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)

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The Employment Situation for March is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 2, 2021,
at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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| |
| Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on February 2021 |
| Household and Establishment Survey Data |
| |
| Data collection for both surveys was affected by the pandemic. In the establishment |
| survey, more data continued to be collected by web than in months prior to the |
| pandemic. In the household survey, for the safety of both interviewers and |
| respondents, in-person interviews were conducted only when telephone interviews could |
| not be done. |
| |
| As in previous months, some workers affected by the pandemic who should have been |
| classified as unemployed on temporary layoff were instead misclassified as employed |
| but not at work. However, the share of responses that may have been misclassified was |
| highest in the early months of the pandemic and has been considerably lower in recent |
| months. Since March 2020, BLS has published an estimate of what the unemployment rate |
| might have been had misclassified workers been included among the unemployed. |
| Repeating this same approach, the seasonally adjusted February unemployment rate |
| would have been 0.5 percentage point higher than reported. However, this represents |
| the upper bound of our estimate of misclassification and probably overstates the size |
| of the misclassification error. |
| |
| More information about the impact of the pandemic on the two surveys is available at |
| www.bls.gov/covid19/employment-situation-covid19-faq-february-2021.htm. |
|_______________________________________________________________________________________|

• • Employment Situation Summary Table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted
  • Employment Situation Summary Table B. Establishment data, seasonally adjusted
  • Employment Situation Frequently Asked Questions
  • Employment Situation Technical Note
  • Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
  • Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age
  • Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age
  • Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment
  • Table A-5. Employment status of the civilian population 18 years and over by veteran status, period of service, and sex, not seasonally adjusted
  • Table A-6. Employment status of the civilian population by sex, age, and disability status, not seasonally adjusted
  • Table A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not seasonally adjusted
  • Table A-8. Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status
  • Table A-9. Selected employment indicators
  • Table A-10. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
  • Table A-11. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment
  • Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment
  • Table A-13. Employed and unemployed persons by occupation, not seasonally adjusted
  • Table A-14. Unemployed persons by industry and class of worker, not seasonally adjusted
  • Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
  • Table A-16. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
  • Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail
  • Table B-2. Average weekly hours and overtime of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
  • Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
  • Table B-4. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
  • Table B-5. Employment of women on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
  • Table B-6. Employment of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
  • Table B-7. Average weekly hours and overtime of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
  • Table B-8. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
  • Table B-9. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)

• Access to historical data for the “A” tables of the Employment Situation News Release
• Access to historical data for the “B” tables of the Employment Situation News Release