The stock market is rising nicely today after the February non farm payrolls report showed that the economy lost just 36,000 jobs in February, much less than the 70,000 or so analysts had expected to be lost. Severe weather throughout February gave the month a very bad backdrop, especially for groups such as retailers and those most exposed to the consumer. The weather would also hurt construction hiring since many jobs were not able to be completed due to the inclement weather during the month. December’s number was revised to just 109,000 jobs lost, from an initial estimate of 150,000. In January there were 26,000 jobs lost. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%.

The breakdown of jobs gained or lost does indeed show the hardest hit area was construction, which shed 62,000 in the month of February. Unemployment in the construction is estimated at a stunning 27.1%. Retail employment held steady after gaining 40,000 jobs in January. On the encouraging side of things, 47,500 temporary workers were added in the month. Private business services, often seen as a barometer for the jobs market overall, added 51,000 jobs in the month of February.

Clearly the jobs market is on the mend from where it was several months ago. Right now we are talking about nearly break-even jobs gained and lost, which is a big improvement over 600,000 jobs being lost per month. There definitely needs to be more improvement and it will be interesting to see what the spring brings for the job market in the United States. Temporary workers being picked up tells me that employers are starting to edge back onto the side of hiring, but they are doing so cautiously. March’s employment report has a chance to be our first month of gains in quite some time, so stay tuned and see if the economy can get back on the path of creating jobs!