Live data from Hacker News

US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

bbc.com

521–530 of 836 posts

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a bit ironic. If all of the undocumented people in the US spent this much time trying to emigrate legally, the US wouldn't need ICE and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Most illegal immigrants could spend the rest of their lives trying to immigrate legally and never make it, so that doesn't seem rational. Being undocumented is their best bet, as long as they don't break the criminal law once they're past the border and they make it 100 miles past the border their odds of being caught are next to nil. ICE is mostly catching people that either turn up in the legal system or are docume…

Uh. Most of us will spend our whole lives trying to earn money but never make it to being billionaires. So are you saying it's rational to disregard the legal system and steal?

The irony is rich here. Country X is bad for enforcing its immigration laws. So let's run off to country Y and dutifully follow its immigration laws.

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#522
post #6

There's a vibe in at least the PNW that feels like the tech sector is sloughing jobs and avoiding creating new ones courtesy of AI. I genuinely wonder if that feeling is backed by reality and whether it's large enough to be translating into national statistics across all industries.

In Washington it is much broader than the tech sector. Washington is being buried in indefensibly bad legislation that is extremely hostile to large companies and tech companies of every size for openly ideological reasons. It has rapidly become one of the worst business environments in the country when it used to be one of the best. Many companies have stopped or reduced hiring in Seattle and are moving operations t…

Like poor people have always understood, assume taxes always go up. Time for the rich to learn this lesson as well.

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The math just doesn't work out for someone relatively young and with no major health issues. The thing is, bad and expensive health issues can literally come upon you over night. You can get hit by a vehicle or get beaten up with no perpetrator to be held accountable, you can develop an aneurysm, get food poisoning, get pregnant unexpectedly (with all the risk that comes with, including healthcare not being accessi…

All those things could happen but the healthcare provider will mug you once a month. There has to be SOME point where the constant muggings aren't worth it vs the risk, otherwise they would simply demand all our money, knowing we won't say no with our life on the line.

Agreed and generally insurance would be a value bet between you and the insurance providee with a slight operation overhead. In the US the market is basically circular as the insurance provider also has hands in all related pies so the bet odds are in such awful state that some people take the risk and rely on crazy stuff like gofundme for survival. I'm not an american but this doesn't look like something that can be solved with more market - the odds are just so broken in many cases.

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#524
post #420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea that's a fair take Like you will go to an election, and your choices will be Republican candidate: "I support deporting your family, I will not only not support cleaner energy but will actively work to increase coal usage, and I think your trans cousin should be forced to transition back even if it makes them commit suicide." Democratic candidate: "I think all of that stuff the Republican candidate said is crazy…

“I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida … to go to court would have taken a long time,” Trump said at a meeting with lawmakers on school safety and gun violence. “Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/376097-trump-tak...

I don't doubt that Trump would take guns away from people who don't support him. It's kinda right out of an authoritarian playbook.

Not sure what that has to do with what I said though.

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#525
post #419

Here is the official source: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/economicdata/empsit_03062026.pd... Some of the main categories (page 8 of the pdf): - Construction: -11.0k - Manufacturing: -12.0k - Transportation and warehousing: -11.3k - Private education and health services: -34.0k - Information -11.0k - Leisure and hospitality -27.0k It seems to go down in lots of different sectors.

Healthcare was carrying the economy. Any commentary on why that’s failing?

I come from healthcare staffing.

Contracts were heavily affected by cuts in federal programs that are critical to some rural regions, and uncertainty caused by inconsistent messaging about the future of such programs. Some areas are very dependent facilities that can only survive with public funding.

For example in nursing categories, CNOs (Chief Nursing Officers) would be requesting more staff, but CFOs would block those requests due to changing budget forecasts. The unpredictability of the fed is causing chaos downstream.

There is also a continuing trend to "realign" staff levels post-COVID, but that now is much easier to forecast for compared to the political chaos. In 2026 healthcare, that would not be a reason for attrition at these levels.

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#526

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Healthcare was carrying the economy. Any commentary on why that’s failing?

Healthcare is a cost not a profit in the economy: the Healthcare sector consumes what is produced by other parts of the economy. Similarly government can't exist without businesses. And a large part of healthcare is dependent on taxation.

> Healthcare is a cost not a profit

It’s both. Like transportation and construction. And whether you think it’s a profit or cost center doesn’t change that it contains paying jobs.

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#527

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Healthcare was carrying the economy. Any commentary on why that’s failing?

I come from healthcare staffing. Contracts were heavily affected by cuts in federal programs that are critical to some rural regions, and uncertainty caused by inconsistent messaging about the future of such programs. Some areas are very dependent facilities that can only survive with public funding. For example in nursing categories, CNOs (Chief Nursing Officers) would be requesting more staff, but CFOs would block…

Thank you. Is there a good reason this is showing up now versus in the 2025 data?

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#528

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been making an effort to visit Canada and Europe more instead of domestic US tourism. I used to go to Florida multiple times a year. Not anymore and you know, Canada is such a great place, am there right now on vacation.

So I live in Florida. People leave Canada this time a year because of the weather. If anything, go further south to Central America. Costa Rica and Panama are safe countries.

Until agent orange decides they should have the canal back.

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#529

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Golden Goose? WA has a massive budget shortfall.

There has been zero accountability for that massive budget shortfall. Revenue has increased 2x over the last decade with nothing to show for it. People are rightly skeptical of giving them even more money. And they have gone about trying to increase revenue even more in just about the most toxic ways possible, which will almost certainly erode the tax base. That state desperately needs to restructure its finances but…

Have you read about _where_ the budget is going? You are complaining about accountability without offering a diagnosis or showing any understanding for what is actually happening.

The budget expansion is almost entirely by medicaide.

Looking at 2019-2023

* Human Services: +~50% nominal → ~+22% real — biggest absolute dollar growth, driven almost entirely by Medicaid expansion and COVID enrollment

* K-12: +23% nominal → ~0% real — flat in purchasing power

* Higher Education: +~20% nominal → ~-2% real — slight real decline

* Government Operations: +~30% nominal → ~+6% real — modest real growth, headcount/compensation driven

* Natural Resources: +~25% nominal → ~+2% real — roughly flat

* Total Budget: +43.5% nominal → ~+17% real

Re: US economy unexpectedly sheds 92k jobs in February

#530

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't blame you. Coming from the US I have been making a point to vacation in Canada, fwiw. Short of voting, protesting and getting into arguments with MAGA people I don't know what else I can effectively do.

I surprised more US folks dont visit Canada, its amazing, much safer, and cheaper for them because of the exchange difference. Im guessing they see prices in CAD ($), and think its more expensive, but not realizing that $1 of theirs buys $1.35 CAD.

Well... they have to interact with the ICE and similar US-Gestapo shit at the border.

Not surprised they want to keep safely within their "East-USA" territory and go nowhere. No one wants to be disappeared in Ecuador.

Post reply on HN