The number of jobs in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in February. What does this mean for the Fed?

The US labor market unexpectedly declined in February, showing a sharp drop compared to January. The data will reinforce investors' concerns about the state of the labor market after a weak 2025, says the Financial Times. Jobs are one of the areas, along with inflation, that the Fed monitors when setting interest rates.

The number of jobs outside the agricultural sector fell by 92,000 in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The forecast of economists assumed growth of about 50,000, MarketWatch cited data from a survey by The Wall Street Journal.

The unemployment rate, on the contrary, rose slightly to 4.4%.

Not only did February's job statistics fall short of expectations, but they were much worse than January's result, when the number of jobs increased by 126,000. The new data is likely to lead to renewed calls for interest rate cuts by some Federal Reserve governors, although such a move is complicated by a potential spike in inflation due to the U.S. war with Iran, the Financial Times noted.

After the publication of data yields on government bonds of the U.S. Ministry of Finance decreased, and their prices rose: investors' hope for lower rates increased, they increased demand for protective assets, writes FT. The dollar weakened by 0.3% - to $1.58 to the euro. Futures on the S & P 500 and Dow Jones declined by more than 1.1%, on the Nasdaq 100 - more than 1.4%.

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