Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, February 2026

The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as “payroll employment” in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—decreased by 60,200 (-0.3%) in February, following an increase of 44,300 (+0.2%) in January. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was virtually unchanged in February.