US economy undershoots expectations with 151,000 jobs created

The US economy created 151,000 jobs in February, falling short of expectations, as concerns deepen about the impact of President Donald Trump aggressive trade policy.

Friday’s figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was below the 160,000 forecast by economists polled by Reuters but above January’s downwardly revised figure of 125,000.

The unemployment rate was 4.1 per cent last month, compared with expectations it would hold steady at 4 per cent.

US stock futures fell as traders parsed through the data. Contracts tracking the S&P 500 equity gauge declined 0.2 per cent. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was 0.07 percentage points lower at 4.22 per cent — marking a significant rally in the price of the notes.

The report caps a tumultuous week in which Trump roiled markets by imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico before a partial reprieve. Recent data has suggested that uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs has knocked manufacturing and consumer spending, both of which underpin US growth.

Federal government employment shrunk by 10,000 jobs in February, possibly reflecting an early impact of Trump’s effort to slash the federal workforce through Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The figure marks the largest reduction in federal employment since June 2022.