U.S. Jobs Report Cools Sharply

The U.S. economy unexpectedly shed 92,000 jobs in February, a stark contrast to the 126,000 jobs added in January and far below economists' forecasts of a 60,000-job gain. The unemployment rate consequently ticked up to 4.4%. Previous months' figures were also revised downward, with job gains in December and January now showing a combined 69,000 fewer positions than initially reported. Job losses were widespread across industries. The healthcare sector, a recent engine of job growth, lost 28,000 positions, largely due to strike activity. The information sector, which includes many tech companies, and the federal government both continued to shed jobs, losing 11,000 and 10,000 employees respectively. The tech sector itself has announced over 33,000 job cuts in the first two months of 2026, a 51% increase from the same period last year. Just six weeks into the year, global tech layoffs had already reached over 30,700, with more than 80% of those roles coming from U.S.-based companies. Artificial intelligence is an accelerating factor in workforce changes, being cited as the direct cause for 4,680 layoffs in February and over 12,000 year-to-date. Fintech company Block, for example, is laying off 4,000 employees—40% of its staff—as part of a restructuring to increase its use of AI. Despite the cooling market, demand for specific software engineering roles is growing. Job postings for AI and Machine Learning engineers saw significant monthly growth in February, with ML engineer postings up 18.8% and AI engineer postings up 26.6%. Cybersecurity and data infrastructure roles also remain in high demand as companies prioritize revenue-driving and risk-reducing hires. The hiring landscape for software engineers has become more selective, shifting from rapid expansion to deliberate, value-driven recruiting. While the long-term outlook for tech jobs is projected to grow at twice the rate of the overall workforce, competition has intensified, particularly for junior-level talent.