Private Payrolls Post Another Strong Gain, Adding 654,000 Jobs in February

U.S. nonfarm payrolls added 678,000 jobs in February, extending a run of 10 consecutive months and 13 of the last 14 months with gains above 400,000. The average monthly gain over the last 14 months is 564,000 (see first chart).

Private payrolls posted a 654,000 gain in February, the ninth in a row and 12^th in the last 14 months above 400,000 (see first chart). The average gain over the last 14 months is 528,000. Both total nonfarm payrolls and private payrolls are less than 1.5 percent below their February 2020 peaks with total nonfarm down by 2.1 million and private payrolls down by 1.4 million (see second chart).