161,000 US Jobs Erased in Revisions as Bitcoin Reacts
Revisions to December and January employment figures erased 161,000 positions from US labor data. Bitcoin traders recalculated Federal Reserve rate cut timing based on the weaker labor market backdrop.
Key Takeaway
Weaker labor data shifts Fed rate expectations, moving Bitcoin through discount rate mechanics rather than crypto-specific catalysts.
The US shed 92,000 jobs in February 2025, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released last month. The unemployment rate climbed to 4.4%.
December's initially reported 48,000 job gain became a 17,000 loss after revision. January dropped from 130,000 to 126,000. Combined with February's decline, the labor market lost 161,000 positions that didn't exist in real time.
CryptoSlate writer Andjela Radmilac said a payroll revision shifts the discount rate and financial conditions underneath risk assets. The data completely changed the balance of the Fed's argument about whether the economy could handle restrictive rates.
Health care led sector losses with 28,000 positions gone, including 37,000 from physician offices. Federal government employment dropped 10,000 in February and has fallen 330,000 jobs from its October 2024 peak. Information lost 11,000 jobs. Transportation and warehousing shed 11,000, with couriers and messengers accounting for 17,000 of that decline.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also released a separate annual benchmark revision in March 2025 that cut 862,000 jobs from employment levels. That adjustment meant 2025's job gains totaled just 181,000 through March, down from an initially reported 584,000. CryptoSlate writer Liam 'Akiba' Wright said the massive federal revisions forced a brutal reality check for crypto investors as rate cut hopes vanished.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in February and climbed 3.8% year-over-year, according to March 2025 data.
This article was written based on reporting from CryptoSlate.
