Fitch: The large-scale layoffs by the US government did not significantly affect non-farm employment in February

Fitch's Chief Economist Brian Coulton stated in a report on February employment data that any negative impact of tariffs and policy uncertainty on economic activity "will not be reflected in the statistical data for quite some time." Employment growth last month was lower than expected, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.1%. The report mentioned that the federal government reduced 10,000 jobs, but this may not include most of the data from layoffs by the U.S. Efficiency Department. Coulton said: "The decline in federal employment numbers in February did not significantly affect overall employment numbers."