The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday, March 8 that the national unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent in February, down from 7.9 percent in January. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 236,000 jobs in February, exceeding economists’ expectations. Job gains were made in professional and business services, construction and health care. 246,000 nonfarm jobs were added in the private sector, while 10,000 jobs were lost in the public sector. The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose slightly from 4.7 billion to 4.8 billion and now account for more than 40 percent of the total unemployed. The number of individuals employed part-time for economic reasons was virtually unchanged. 

State governments lost 8,000 jobs in February, while local governments lost 2,000 jobs and federal government job numbers were unchanged. Federal, state and local jobs now total 21.8 million, bringing public sector employment to its lowest seasonally adjusted level since October 2005.  State government employment, now at 5.0 million, is at its lowest level since April 2005.

Link: News Release