February jobs report: DOGE federal layoffs show up amid gains

 The February jobs report showed stronger-than-expected growth as275,000 jobs were created, surpassing estimates of 200,000. The unemployment rate rose, however, to 3.9%, with wage growth remaining constant. While healthcare and government job sectors showed strong gains, retail and manufacturing experienced some pullbacks. The mixed tone of the report shows there is some resilience to job creation and some underlying economic volatility. I think that this report means that the job market is continuing to grow but starting to show signs of a possible slowdown. The rise in unemployment, despitestrong job increases, suggests more people are leaving the labor pool or struggling to find employment. It will be important to pay attentionto if hiring remains firm in the upcoming months or the rise in unemployment is indicative of larger problems.

NBC NewsFebruary jobs report: DOGE federal layoffs show up amid gains

24-Hour Economic Blackout Results

On February 28, consumers participated in an "economic blackout," a one day boycott aimed at reducing spending, with an emphasis on supporting local businesses. The boycott led to declines in e-commerce traffic and in-store foot traffic for major retailers like Target and Walmart, while Amazon sales remained largely unchanged.

• Amazon: Sales increased by 1% compared to the previous eight Fridays' average.
• E-commerce Traffic: The top 100 online retailers saw a 6% year-over-year decrease and a 4% drop from the prior Friday.
• Target: Web traffic declined by 1.0%, while app traffic dropped by 10.9%. In-store foot traffic also fell.
• Walmart: Website traffic was down 6.5%, and app usage declined by 2.5%. Brick-and-mortar stores saw fewer visitors.
• Costco: Website traffic increased by 8.3%, but app traffic decreased by 6.9%.

Link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/finance/news/results-feb-28-economic-blackout-201401957.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAzImQrIoVjVCcx0Oukbr_zFzcme5_ykptSiwrjm0psMBjwk4A3SvymigxBWEzhx6o_gJunwvHxobBbyr1tK8GWIzrcrw3E-8Gsjaev27M8A6o5qrXxk8I7Zjhw0jKDbknF34lAAG4C-3i_y4FOgkYj2UF_KKvfKi3Z68VDR3Bmq