275,000 US Jobs Added February—Interest Rates Be Darned
America’s employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in February, adding a surprising 275,000 jobs and again showcasing the U.S. economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates.
Last month’s job growth marked an increase from a revised gain of 229,000 jobs in January. At the same time, the unemployment rate ticked up two-tenths of a point in February to 3.9%. Though that was the highest rate in two years, it is still low by historic standards. And it marked the 25th straight month in which joblessness has remained below 4% — the longest such streak since the 1960s.
Yet despite sharply lower inflation, a healthy job market and a record-high stock market, many Americans say they are unhappy with the state of the economy — a sentiment that is sure to weigh on President Joe Biden’s bid for re-election. Many voters blame Biden for the surge in consumer prices that began in 2021. Though inflationary pressures have significantly eased, average prices remain about 17% above where they stood three years ago.
Friday's report drastically revised down the government's estimate of hiring in December and January from what had been blockbuster increases to still-solid gains. The report also gave the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve what could be a dose of encouraging news: Average hourly wages rose just 0.1% from January, the smallest monthly gain in more than two years, and 4.3% from a year earlier, less than expected. Average pay growth has been exceeding inflation for more than year, but when it rises too fast it can feed inflation.
The latest figures reflected the job market’s sustained ability to withstand the 11 rate hikes the Fed imposed in its drive against inflation, which made borrowing much costlier for households and businesses. Employers have continued to hire briskly to meet steady demand from consumers across the economy.
The February figures will likely make Fed officials more comfortable about cutting rates sometime in the coming months. With December and January job gains revised sharply down, wage growth easing and the unemployment rate up, the Fed's policymakers aren't likely to worry about an overheating economy. Most economists and Wall Street traders expect the first rate cut to come in June. The Fed stopped raising rates in July and has signaled that it envisions three rate cuts this year.
The unemployment rate rose last month in part because more people began looking for a job and didn’t immediately find one. The Fed will be reassured by the influx of job seekers, which typically makes it easier for businesses to fill jobs without having to significantly raise pay.
Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial Services, said he was impressed by the breadth of hiring last month: Among industries, health care companies added 67,000 jobs, government at all levels 52,000, restaurants and bars 42,000, construction companies 23,000 and retailers 19,000.
By contrast, factories cut 4,000 jobs. And financial companies, including banks, insurers and real estate firms, added just 1,000.
When the Fed began aggressively raising rates in March 2022 to fight the worst bout of inflation in four decades, a painful recession was widely predicted, with waves of layoffs and high unemployment. The Fed boosted its benchmark rate to the highest level in more than two decades.
Inflation has eased, more or less steadily, in response: Consumer prices in January were up just 3.1% from a year earlier — way down from a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in 2022 and edging closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Unemployment is still low. And no recession is in sight.
The combination of easing inflation and sturdy hiring is raising hopes that the Fed can achieve a so-called “soft landing” by taming inflation without causing a recession — a scenario consistent with Friday's numbers.
Faucher said he expects average monthly job growth to decelerate to around 150,000 and for the unemployment rate to rise to slightly above 4% by year's end. A cooling labor market, he suggested, will allow the Fed to start cutting rates this spring.
Many Americans are exhibiting confidence in the economy through their actions: Consumers, whose average wages have outpaced inflation over the past year and who socked away money during the pandemic, have continued to spend and drive economic growth. The economy’s gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — grew by a solid 2.5% last year, up from 1.9% in 2022. And employers keep hiring.
In the meantime, the job market’s modest slowdown is happening so far in perhaps the least painful way: Companies are posting slightly fewer job openings rather than laying people off. The number of Americans filing for weekly unemployment benefits — a rough proxy for the number of layoffs — has remained low, suggesting that most workers enjoy solid job security.
Wage growth still remains slightly high from the Fed’s perspective. Some economists argue, though, that pay increases don’t need to drop so much: A surge in productivity that started last year — as companies invested in machines and used their workers more efficiently — means that employers can pay more and still reap profits without raising prices.
Share:More In Business Load MoreAI boom blows up Big Tech’s climate promises
Google logo on a building in New York. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press) - Share via
The greenhouse gas emissions of Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google spiked in 2025, pointing to a growing problem for the hyperscalers: reconciling their climate goals with the massive amount of energy required to power AI, much of it still generated from fossil fuels.
Amazon’s emissions rose 16% from 2024, the company said in a sustainability report released Wednesday. It emitted about 81 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent last year, roughly as much as the emissions from 19 million gas-powered cars on the road. The increase was driven by data center construction and fuel used for deliveries, the report said.
Google’s “ambition-based” emissions — a definition that excludes some parts of its supply chain — climbed 18% overall in 2025. Its Scope 1 emissions from its own operations, excluding purchased electricity, went up 20% compared to 2024, due in part to its expanding data center portfolio, the company said in its own sustainability report released Tuesday.
Amazon has a goal of reaching net zero by 2040, while Google is targeting 2030. As they balance AI’s power needs with sustainability, the companies report varying degrees of success.
Google’s electricity use went up by 37% last year, but it managed a small drop in its Scope 2 emissions from purchased power due to its sourcing of clean energy. Amazon, by contrast, said its emissions from buying electricity rose 34%.
Other tech giants are reckoning with the same challenge. Microsoft Corp. pledged to match 100% of its hourly electricity consumption with purchases of zero-carbon energy by 2030. Bloomberg News reported earlier this year that the company has weighed scaling back the commitment because of data center expansion.
Microsoft and Meta Platforms Inc., in their most recent reports published last year, cited emissions jumps of 23% and 64%, respectively. Meta set a net-zero target for 2030 across its entire value chain.
Data centers’ hunger for power is helping drive up utility bills and spurring investment in US fossil fuel infrastructure, including natural gas power plants. SpaceX is using gas turbines to run its AI data centers in Tennessee and Mississippi.
But producing the hardware, concrete and steel used in the facilities is also energy intensive. Google, in its new report, reported a 25% rise in Scope 3 or supply-chain emissions from 2024 that it attributed mostly to hardware manufacturing and data center construction.
Critics argue the industry should be doing more to curb its carbon footprint.
“We’re essentially in a climate crisis and we should not be having emissions growth at all, arguably, and yet the data centers are going in the opposite direction,” said Sasha Luccioni, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Sustainable AI Group, which works to measure and limit the environmental impact of the sector.
Amazon and Google both said they remain committed to their sustainability targets. Google’s report noted that its path to net zero will not be linear, “given our AI infrastructure build-out is currently accelerating faster than the grid is decarbonizing.”
“While the speed and scale of AI adoption is unique — and the change is happening faster and more broadly than anything else we’ve encountered in our lifetimes — the need to stay stubborn on our vision and flexible on the details is familiar territory,” Amazon’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kara Hurst said in its report.
This spring, activist investors asked Amazon, Alphabet and Meta in shareholder proposals to explain how they’re reconciling surging electricity demand for AI with their climate commitments. None of the proposals earned majority support.
Raimonde and Soper write for Bloomberg.
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Tottenham confirm Mateus Fernandes deal as Tonali jets in from Milan
Sandro Tonali declared he is 'ready for this new adventure' as the Newcastle star travelled to London to complete a £100m move to Tottenham, minutes after Spurs announced the arrival of Mateus Fernandes.
Daily Mail Sport understands Tonali is set to sign a six-year deal at Tottenham, which could be worth around £275,000 per week.
Tottenham agreed terms on a £92.5million deal with Newcastle, with add-ons centred around Champions League qualification taking that fee to £100m.
Tonali spoke to reporters at Milan Linate Airport as he travelled to London to undergo a medical.
'We had a sort of agreement with Newcastle, we talked every day and we made it,' Tonali told Sky Sport Italia.
'They wanted the best from me, we wanted the best deal for them. We parted on excellent terms, we're all happy and I'm ready for this new adventure.
Sandro Tonali spoke to reporters outside Milan airport as the Newcastle midfielder travelled to London to complete a £100m move to Tottenham
Tottenham have completed the £85m signing of Mateus Fernandes as the club overhauls Roberto De Zerbi's midfield
'[Roberto] De Zerbi did a great job in all this and for a life choice with family after three years at Newcastle, last year our lives changed with our child's birth so we decided to change a bit our life and De Zerbi made a great difference, he did his job and he did it very well.
The Italian international is set to become part of a new-look Tottenham midfield under head coach De Zerbi.
Tonali will become Tottenham's record signing, surpassing the £85m they have paid to West Ham for Fernandes.
Fernandes' move was confirmed on Thursday morning, with the midfielder admitting De Zerbi was a key factor in his decision to sign for the club.
'I'm very excited for this next step,' Fernandes said.
'Spurs is a massive club and the head coach was a key part of why I have decided to join.
'When we spoke, it was very special. We look at football in the same way - going onto the pitch as a strong team, with fight and energy, to try and win every game.
'I can't wait to get started, to meet the fans, to meet everyone, and give everything for the club.'
Tonali said he leaves Newcastle on 'excellent terms' and is ready for a 'new adventure'
The Italian midfielder credited Roberto De Zerbi as a key factor for him making the move
De Zerbi added: 'I've admired Mateus for a long time because he combines quality on the ball with the intensity and intelligence that are so important in the way we want to play.
'Despite his age, he already has good experience in the Premier League and has shown quality and consistency at this level.
'Mateus is comfortable under pressure, can progress the ball, works hard for the team and has the courage to make things happen in difficult moments.
'I believe this is the ideal environment for him to continue his development and I'm excited to start working with him.'
The additions of Tonali and Fernandes will mark a significant boost for De Zerbi as he looks to rebuild a Spurs squad which has slumped to 17th-placed finishes in each of the last two seasons.
Ex-AC Milan captain Tonali made 110 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 10 goals, since signing for the club from the Italian giants back in 2023 in a deal worth £60m.
Just months after moving to the north-east, he received a 10-month suspension after being found guilty of breaching rules on gambling by the Italian Football Federation. He subsequently missed the rest of the season and the Euros that summer.
Fernandes has impressed in the past two seasons in the Premier League, despite suffering back-to-back relegations with Southampton and West Ham.
Tottenham beat Man United to the signing of Fernandes, who leaves West Ham following their relegation to the Championship
West Ham confirmed the 21-year-old's departure to their London rivals with a short statement on their website.
'West Ham United can confirm that Mateus Fernandes has completed a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur for an undisclosed fee.
'The 21-year-old Portugal international departs having made 38 appearances and scored four goals for the Hammers after joining from Southampton in the summer of 2025.
'West Ham United would like to thank Mateus for his service and wish him well for the future.
They have already agreed on free agents Martin Dubravka, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson while Jan Paul van Hecke arrived from Brighton for £52million.
Spurs also want to add a forward and a winger with Savinho of Manchester City still in their sights.
Despite interest from Nottingham Forest and Napoli, they have yet to receive a bid for wantaway midfielder Lucas Bergvall.
Tottenham did however accept a £50million offer from Brighton to sell Croatia centre back Luka Vuskovic.
