U.S. Adds 242,000 Jobs in February 2016

Words: Dan KamysPayrolls are growing but wages aren’t, according to the latest monthly employment report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Construction made a strong showing, though a dip in overall wages questions a tightening labor market. The U.S. economy added 242,000 private, non-farm, seasonally adjusted payroll positions in February, beating analysts' expectations and recovering from a slowdown in growth during January. This month’s positive report continues the longest run of monthly employment gains on record at 72 months, The New York Times reports, but the slight decline in wages from January stands to counter the notion that employees will benefit from a tightening market as businesses compete for fewer available workers and could, more generally, slow consumer spending. The national unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent. The previously reported payroll gains of 151,000 for January were revised up to 172,000. December’s addition of 262,000 was changed to 271,000. Construction continued its upward trend in February, adding 19,000 jobs. Overall, the sector has added 253,000 payroll positions in the last 12 months, with residential specialty trade contractors accounting for roughly half of that growth. Manufacturing lost 16,000 jobs in February, while the architectural and engineering services subsector kept pace with the downward-revised December and January figures at 1,400 jobs added in February.
Hallie Busta is an associate editor of products and technology at ARCHITECT, Architectural Lighting, and Residential Architect. Follow her on Twitter at @HallieBusta.
PPE That Workers Actually Wear: Building Buy-In Through Education and Smart Selection
August 2026

In masonry construction, personal protective equipment (PPE) is often the last line of defense between a worker and an injury. Yet despite its importance, PPE compliance remains one of the most common challenges on jobsites across the country. The realit

Greg Brown
Safety Library
Read More
Zero Laydown: Navigating the Logistics of Tight Urban Job Sites
August 2026

In modern commercial construction, spatial real estate has become just as valuable as the materials themselves. The industry shift toward high-density, urban projects means that the sprawling job sites of the past have been replaced by tight footprints wh

Shayne Sanders
MAP Partner
Read More
Why "The Software Can't Track That" Is Finally Going Away
August 2026

For as long as specialty contractors have used field software, most of them have kept a workaround somewhere: a spreadsheet on a foreman's laptop, a whiteboard in the trailer, or a text thread where crew leads send block counts at the end of the day becau

Erin Koets
Build Smart
MAP Partner
Read More
Monadnock Building
August 2026

Chicago’s Monadnock Building doesn’t dominate the skyline the way it once did. Surrounded by steel-and-glass towers, the dark brick structure can seem almost understated. But for anyone in the masonry industry, it remains one of the most important buildin

Cass Stern
American Treasure
Brick Clay Brick
Read More