The total number of nonfarm jobs in February was 325,800, up from 320,000 in January and up by 5,200 from a year earlier, for an increase of 1.6 percent. The private sector led with 1.9 percent annual job growth, while the government sector grew by 0.7 percent. Changes for federal employees are not yet appearing in the state’s job counts, with 15,200 in February representing a gain of 100 compared to a year earlier. Local government, however, was flat from year to year, despite a gain of 600 from January to February for a total of 41,900, not counting public school employment or tribal governments.
The manufacturing sector, largely driven by seafood processing, saw the largest annual percentage drop, losing 500 jobs compared to February 2024, or a loss of 4.4 percent. The retail and financial activities sectors also counted 100 fewer jobs than a year earlier, for decreases of 0.3 and 0.9 percent, respectively.
