Job losses mount as war-driven oil surge hits US economy

The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as the unemployment rate came in at 4.4%. The total number of unemployed people stood at 7.6 million, with both figures showing little change during the month.

The report also noted annual population adjustments in the household survey estimates, with added details listed in tables A and B of the release.

The rest of the labor data was not much better. The labor force participation rate held at 62.0% in February, while the employment-population ratio stayed at 59.3%. Both measures also showed little change over the year after the annual population control adjustments.

Long-term joblessness in America stays high

The number of people working part-time for economic reasons fell by 477,000 to 4.4 million. These were people who wanted full-time work but either had their hours cut or could not find a full-time job.

At the same time, the number of long-term unemployed, meaning people out of work for 27 weeks or more, stood at 1.9 million. That figure was little changed in February, but it was up from 1.5 million a year earlier. Long-term unemployed workers made up 25.3% of all unemployed people.

Among major worker groups, the numbers barely moved in February. Adult men had an unemployment rate of 4.0%. Adult women came in at 4.1%. Teenagers were at 14.9%.

By race, the unemployment rate was 3.7% for White workers, 7.7% for Black workers, 4.8% for Asian workers, and 5.2% for Hispanic workers. The report said these rates showed little or no change during the month.

Oil prices jump as Trump keeps focus on the Iran war

That pressure came from oil. U.S. crude oil prices topped $80 per barrel on Thursday as the expanding Iran war hit global fuel supplies. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz came to a standstill after attacks on tankers.

West Texas Intermediate jumped 8.51%, or $6.35, to close at $81.01 per barrel. That was the biggest one-day gain since May 2020. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 4.93%, or $4.01, to settle at $85.41 per barrel. U.S. oil prices were up about 21% this week.

The hit from crude quickly reached drivers. AAA said average U.S. gasoline prices rose by nearly 27 cents from last week to $3.25 per gallon. The group said the last time gas prices made a jump like that was in March 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was not worried about higher gas prices tied to the wider Iran conflict. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, he said the military operation mattered more.

“I don’t have any concern about it,” Trump said when asked about rising prices at the pump. He added, “They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit.”

Trump also said he was not planning to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is the world’s largest emergency crude stockpile. He said he believed the Strait of Hormuz would stay open because Iran’s navy was at the “bottom of the sea.” He also said the costs “haven’t risen very much.”

Earlier, on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. would provide political risk insurance and naval escorts for tankers. Iran, meanwhile, claimed it had hit an oil tanker with a missile, according to a state media report.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard also ordered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week and threatened to attack tankers moving through it.

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