American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. Meanwhile, unemployment rose to 4.4%. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring deteriorated from January, when companies, nonprofits and government agencies added a healthy 126,000 jobs. Economists had expected 60,000 new jobs in February. Revisions also cut 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls. The job market had been expected to rebound this year from a lackluster 2025 when the economy, buffeted by President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policies and the lingering effects of high interest rates, generated just 15,000 jobs a month. Construction companies cut 11,000 jobs last month, which likely reflects frigid weather. And health care firms shed 28,000 jobs after a four-week strike by more than 30,000 nurses and other front-line workers at Kaiser Permanente in California and Hawaii. Health care has been one of the job market’s strong points. Factories cut 12,000 jobs and have now lost jobs for 14 of the last 15 months. Restaurants and bars lost nearly 30,000 jobs. Administrative and support services firms lost nearly 19,000 jobs and courier and messenger services almost 17,000. Financial firms added 10,000 jobs. Average hourly wages rose 0.4% from January and 3.8% from a year earlier. The outlook for the job market—and the entire economy—is clouded by the war with Iran. Read the full story from the Associated Press.  Workforce Has your company eliminated any jobs in the last three months? Yes No Δ ...read more read less