Breaking Job News: The February Jobs Report Looks Good… Until You See the Details

Episode notes

A new employment report suggests the job market is improving, but the details tell a very different story. In today’s episode of Cornering the Job Market, host Pete Newsome breaks down the latest private payroll data from ADP, which shows the strongest hiring month in seven months. Private employers added 63,000 jobs in February, a headline that sounds encouraging at first glance. A closer look reveals that nearly all of that growth came from just two sectors: healthcare and construction. Healthcare continues to expand as demand for workers grows, while construction hiring is being fueled by massive investments in data centers. Outside those areas, the picture is far less optimistic. Professional and business services lost tens of thousands of jobs for the second straight month, and manufacturing continues a long downward trend. Pete also explores what the data says about who actually holds the power in today’s labor market. The pay premium for switching jobs has dropped to a record low, signaling that employers now have the upper hand after the worker-driven hiring frenzy of 2022. Next, we look at surprising new research from Revelio Labs about LinkedIn profiles.

Related episodes across the Index

Other episodes covering the same guests and topics, from across The B2B Podcast Index.

• ep 129 Navigating the Future with AIThe Fabulous Learning Nerds · on job market61 / 100
• The Monthly Work Recap July 2026: AI LAWSUITS • HIRING FREEZES • PAY TRANSPARENCY • RTO REALITY CHECKYour Work Friends · on job market
• Everyone’s a Cyborg Now: Talking Culture with Bryan AdamsHRchat Podcast · on jobs
• Hiring in 2026 with Suzi Edwards-AlexanderRunAs Radio · on employment
• What we wish we knew about the next 3 years of AI?The Enterprise AI Show · on job market
• EP 132 - Hacking Your PM Job Search with Marcus PoliniProduct for Product Management · on jobs

• The Week in Jobs: AI Insider Puts 10% Odds on Human Extinction & Women Took 97% of New Jobs62 / 100
• The Week in Jobs: A Startup Offered Interviews for Tattoos & AI Is Actually Growing Jobs59 / 100
• The Week in Jobs: Unemployment Claims Hit a 57-Year Low, but 93% Say Wages Aren't Keeping Up68 / 100
• The Week in Jobs: June's Weak Jobs Report, Volkswagen's 100K Layoffs, & the AI Jobs Debate55 / 100
• The Week in Jobs: CEO Confidence Declines, Top AI Bosses Are Split, And Fraud Is On The Rise57 / 100