The downturn in job creation is a direct result of the failed economic policies of the trump administration. He inherited a booming economy that was adding well over 100,000 jobs a month, salary increases outpacing inflation and wide opportunity to change jobs to advance in position and renumeration. Despite the Supreme Court’s declaration that his tariff regime is unconstitutional, he turned around and imposed 15 percent across-the board tariffs. Meanwhile, Americans are struggling with the surging cost of health insurance – many having to give it up – as well as food, utilities, housing, insurance, but his administration has fired hundreds of thousands of federal workers, caused migrants to go into hiding, and has caused consumer spending to plummet, which has been the engine for economic growth. Indeed, contradicting trump’s lie about a surging economy, a mere 181,000 jobs were created throughout his first year back in office, averaging 15,000 jobs per month, or the weakest year for job growth since 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This is despite having shut down legitimate data collection (taking over the Bureau of Labor Statistics), and having no external pressures on the economy (recession, pandemic), but only the policies he chose to inflict.
The impact of trump’s policies is most clearly seen in the decline in Leisure-Hospitality jobs, second biggest drop, -27,300, after retail, due to his tariffs, visa policies, bans on travel, antagonism to countries (especially Canada), his immigration roundups/deportations. A human-intensive industry and one of the nation’s biggest employers, travel and hospitality employs one in eight people.
Meanwhile, the future is bleak: between his war of choice against Iran which besides the loss of life, the cost ($1 billion/day), the threats to oil (prices up), his overturn of regulations and greenlight to predatory capitalists including tech companies (no protections on jobs from AI) and fraudsters (shut down investigations and shifted all the investigators to his campaign of retribution of opponents), is likely to lead to a Great Recession and spiking inflation. The report by Revlio Public Labor Statistics about a loss of 17,000 jobs in February comes at a time when the trump administration is not releasing such data. –Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Revelio Labs today released its January edition of Revelio Public Labor Statistics (RPLS), a monthly data release delivering transparent and reliable insights into the U.S. labor market. The latest data indicates a loss of 16,600 jobs in January, a steeper decline in comparison to last month’s loss of 13,000, and in line with expectations.
While the hiring rate continued to tick downward in February, attrition remained steady, leading to the decrease in net job creation. Further, labor demand continues to cool in the US, as the number of active job postings across the country ticked downwards again. Salaries from new job postings ticked down slightly in February, decreasing by 1.4% from January 2026.
The loss in employment was driven by Retail Trade and Leisure and Hospitality. Health Care, Professional and Business Services, and Financial Activities saw positive job growth. Within these sectors, the employers with the largest declines were Amazon after the large layoff announcement in January, as well as CVS in Retail, and Starbucks and McDonald’s in Leisure and Hospitality.
“The February data show a labor market that is starting to lose momentum. Employment declined modestly and hiring activity continues to slow, while job openings keep falling as employers are cautious about expanding their workforce,” said Chief Economist Lisa Simon.
RPLS is a freely available macroeconomic labor market set of statistics built from 100+ million U.S. profiles to provide a clear view of workforce dynamics. It follows a format similar to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), tracking employment levels, wages, and job transitions at a scale that traditional surveys cannot, offering a continuous picture of the labor market. RPLS intends to close the growing information gap and deliver unbiased data on the U.S. workforce for policymakers, businesses, and the public.
February 2026 Release Highlights
View the full Revelio Public Labor Statistics (RPLS) data release and charts at https://www.reveliolabs.com/public-labor-statistics/
Changes in employment by industry (in thousands)
| Sector | Change Feb 26 – Jan 26 |
| Total nonfarm | -16.6 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting | -0.1 |
| Construction | 9.5 |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | -2.1 |
| Manufacturing | -2.5 |
| Wholesale trade | -0.5 |
| Retail trade | -34.6 |
| Transportation and warehousing | -1.6 |
| Utilities | 1.5 |
| Information | -1.4 |
| Financial activities | 10.2 |
| Professional and business services | 11.5 |
| Education and health services | 4.3 |
| Leisure and hospitality | -27.3 |
| Other services (except Public Administration) | 0.0 |
| Unclassified | -0.9 |
Salaries from new job postings by sector
| Sector | Feb 26 | Pct change Jan 26 – Feb 26 |
| Total US | $81,539 | -1.41 % |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | $49,321 | -0.21 % |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | $76,720 | 0.02 % |
| Utilities | $81,265 | -0.40 % |
| Construction | $70,944 | 0.29 % |
| Wholesale Trade | $61,879 | -0.05 % |
| Information | $101,533 | 0.32 % |
| Financial Activities | $89,919 | 1.03 % |
| Professional and Business Services | $90,907 | -0.17 % |
| Education and Health Services | $63,631 | 0.75 % |
| Leisure and Hospitality | $45,736 | -1.21 % |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | $56,554 | 0.36 % |
| Public Administration | $61,640 | 0.69 % |
| Unclassified | $69,134 | -7.09 % |
What data sources are used?
Powered by a dataset representing close to the whole population of employed people in the United States, Revelio Public Labor Statistics (RPLS) draws from 100+ million U.S. profiles that mirror the national workforce and cover two-thirds of all employed individuals, compared to an estimated 27% from the BLS establishment survey and 0.03% from the BLS household survey.
Revelio Labs is an industry leader in workforce intelligence. Our team of Data Scientists, Economists, and Engineers have the unique expertise to deliver valuable workforce analytics that empower people to make actionable, data-driven decisions. By providing a clear source of workforce information, we see a world where the allocation of human capital is as efficient, transparent, and scientific as the allocation of financial capital, resulting in a more engaged and better-performing workforce for everyone. Learn more at www.reveliolabs.com.