The U.S. job market continued to grow at a solid pace in February, with the unemployment rate edging up slightly to 4.1%. The labor market remains healthy overall, but there are signs of potential weakness in the coming months, driven by mass federal government layoffs and ongoing policy uncertainty.
This month’s jobs report may not fully reflect the impact of these layoffs in both the federal government and private sector, as the reference period for the monthly jobs report only covers the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. In fact, government job losses totaled only 10,000 workers for the February report.
In February, wage growth accelerated. Year-over-year, wages grew at a 4.0% rate, down 0.1 percentage points from a year ago. Wage growth has been outpacing inflation for nearly two years, which typically occurs as productivity increases.
National Employment
According to the Employment Situation Summary reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in February, following a downwardly revised increase of 125,000 jobs in January. Since January 2021, the U.S. job market has added jobs for 50 consecutive months, making it the third-longest period of employment expansion on record.
The estimates for the previous two months were revised. The monthly change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised up by 16,000 from +307,000 to +323,000, while the change for January was revised down by 18,000 from +143,000 to +125,000. Combined, the revisions were 2,000 lower than previously reported.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in February. While the number of employed persons decreased by 588,000, the number of unemployed persons increased by 203,000.
Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population either looking for a job or already holding a job—decreased two percentage points to 62.4%. For people aged between 25 and 54, the participation rate remained unchanged, at 83.5%. While the overall labor force participation rate remains below its pre-pandemic levels of 63.3% at the beginning of 2020, the rate for people aged between 25 and 54 exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 83.1%.
In February, employment rose in several sectors, including health care (+52,000), financial activities (+21,000), transportation and warehousing (+18,000), and social assistance (+11,000). However, within the government sector, federal government employment saw a decline of 10,000, marking the worst month of federal government net hiring since June 2022.
Construction Employment
Employment in the overall construction sector increased by 19,000 in February, after a 2,000 gain in January. While residential construction gained 12,700 jobs, non-residential construction employment added 6,200 jobs for the month.
Residential construction employment now stands at 3.4 million in February, broken down as 955,000 builders and 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors. The 6-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was 2,600 a month. Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 50,500 jobs on a net basis. Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 1,387,000 positions.
In February, the unemployment rate for construction workers rose to 5.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The unemployment rate for construction workers has remained at a relatively lower level, after reaching 15.3% in April 2020 due to the housing demand impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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While Clarke-Bishop has reduced the amount of black in the room, she’s also banished most of the white to make the kitchen feel warmer and more inviting.
“At first we were trying to do a pink kitchen, but we couldn’t find a shade that would work in this light — everything either looked too sugary or too dirty,” she says. They settled on a very pale but warm gray.
The walls, meanwhile, are a subtle pinkish-white. “It brings warmth into the room without being an overt color,” Clarke-Bishop says.
The client loves black, so Clarke-Bishop has retained some, designing a black island that echoes the existing range. The island is on legs. “It not being solid allows more light to come through and gives it a bit more airiness,” she says.
The island isn’t huge — 64½ inches long by 35½ inches wide by 32 inches deep — but it’s perfect for the homeowners. “They really didn’t want any appliances in the island. They wanted it to be a standalone” countertop, Clarke-Bishop says. “It’s become a real focal point of the kitchen — everyone stands around it chatting.”
The legs are a modern take on a Victorian turned leg. “I researched lots of Victorian table legs to find a good combination of the detail they needed to add a bit of something to the space without it being overly ornate, because everything’s quite simple and calm in the room,” Clarke-Bishop says.
The countertop is Arabescato marble, which has a hint of pink in it. The remaining countertops are a simple, lightly marbled quartz, “just to allow the island to have a shining moment.”
The refrigerator sits behind the far-left door, with a pantry in the right-hand tall cabinet.
Cabinet paint: Strong White; island paint: Pitch Black, both Farrow & Ball; wall paint: Rose Tinted White, Edward Bulmer