US job losses much less than feared

By Lee Wild

Date: Friday 05 Mar 2010

US employers shed far fewer jobs than expected last month although it’s likely February’s snow storms on the East Coast had a big impact.

Non-farm payrolls fell 36,000, according to the Labor Department, much less than the 65,000 predicted by economists, while the unemployment rate, steady at 9.7%, had been expected to hit 9.8%.

The loss of 20,000 jobs in January was revised to a 26,000 decline, while the December figure was revised to a 109,000 drop from 150,000 previously.

An extra 1,000 factory jobs were created in February following a 20,000 increase the month before, but 60,000 were loss in the goods-producing sector and 64,000 in construction.

The jobs survey was carried out in the middle of last month when thousands of businesses were under several feet of snow.

Employees forced to stay at home without pay do not appear on the latest numbers.

“We cannot say how much February's payroll employment was affected by the severe weather," said Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall.

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