US loses tech, manufacturing, professional services jobs in February

The US labour market remains a one-legged stool, so much so that when the one sector supporting it suffers a loss, the total slips into the red, writes KPMG US Chief Economist Diane Swonk.

United States (US) payroll employment dropped by 92,000 in February after a modest downward revision to 126,000 payroll gains last month. The three-month moving average on job gains fell to 6,000 in February from 50,000 in January. The economy shed jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025 when more than 150,000 federal workers rolled off the payrolls on 1 October. Public sector payrolls shed 6,000 jobs. Losses were concentrated at the federal level, driven by losses outside of the postal system....

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Authors: Diane Swonk

Published Date: 10 March 2026