Economy Sheds 92,000 Jobs as Unemployment Edges Up to 4.4 Percent

The establishment survey showed employers shed 92,000 jobs in February, as almost every major sector shed jobs. With downward revisions to the prior two months’ data, and December now showing losses, the average gain over the last three months is just 6,000 jobs. Nearly every major sector had lost jobs in the month, including health care and social assistance, which showed a loss of 18,600 jobs, partly due to strikes in the sector.

It is likely that the job losses reported in February were at least partly due to bad weather...