In the first full month of Donald Trump‘s presidency, government data shows that the U.S. added fewer jobs than expected while the unemployment rate has now increased to 4.1%. According to the data released on Friday, 151,000 workers were hired last month. Economists, however, were expecting to see 170,000 jobs added, per ABC News.
Despite the latest data, however, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy remains strong.
“Despite elevated levels of uncertainty, the U.S. economy continues to be in a good place,” Powell said, per ABC News. “The labor market is solid.”
While the federal government cut 10,000 workers in February, the employment numbers increased in health care, social assistance, finance and other sectors. The data also shows that stocks are continuing to fall after Trump issued a temporary withdrawal from some of the tariffs he threatened to impose. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped to about 425 points on Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.7% and Nasdaq went down 2.6%.
As the economy continues to fluctuate, egg prices are also soaring. In January, the price of eggs increased by 53%, ABC News reported. Bird Flu is one of the reasons for the dramatic price increase.
The consumer confidence gauge recorded in February showed that a large portion of the population feels pessimistic about the future, saying they are anticipating a recession.
According to Freddie Mac data, there is some reason for optimism when it comes to mortgage rate. The data shows that the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is now 6.63%, which is the lowest figure seen since December 2024.
