US economy adds 151,000 jobs; unemployment ticks up

The monthly jobs report isn’t exactly like reading tea leaves. Typically, it’s pretty straightforward to interpret. But in these uncertain times, warning signs and all-clears don’t look all that different.

In the first full month of the Trump administration, employers in the US added 151,000 jobs and unemployment rose to 4.1%, up from 4% in January.

Is that good? Is that bad? Depends on who you ask. Economists expected 160,000 new jobs last month, and anticipated unemployment to hold steady at 4%, according to CNN.

“The markets should breathe a sigh of relief that there wasn’t a shock in either direction and the report was a mixed bag,” Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, told the outlet.

But it’s a mixed bag to some, and a sign of cooling to others.

“There were fears that today’s jobs report would reveal some deeply unsettling news around the health of the labor market,” Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, said in a statement, per NBC News. “Yet, while the worst fears were not met, the report does confirm that the labor market is cooling.”

The conflicting interpretations shouldn’t come as a surprise. Some of the more interesting elements of hiring right now can’t be seen in this month’s report. The Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency have slashed government jobs, while President Trump seemingly flip-flops daily on tariffs.

It was too soon to tell what kind of impact threatened and real tariffs had on trading partners. And while February’s survey showed a sharp decline of 10,000 federal workers, it’s likely only a blip in what’s to come. As the New York Times noted, “economists say the administration’s mass firings, buyouts and hiring freezes at federal agencies may not fully surface in the monthly data until sometime this spring.”

There’s always next month.