The Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) suggest the level of activity increased modestly in February while momentum accelerated. The level of activity indicator increased by 0.08 in February from −0.41 to −0.33. Meanwhile, the momentum indicator increased by 0.22 from 0.26 to 0.48, its first monthly increase since July 2020.
These readings likely do not fully describe the state of the labor market at the end of February, as many of the input data series reflect conditions early in the month. In particular, the series do not include the effects of the decrease in new COVID-19 cases or the acceleration in vaccine administration that occurred later in the month. For example, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Household Survey are from the reference period of February 7 through February 13. Additionally, the most recent data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) are for January. Therefore, labor market developments in the latter half of February, including the labor market response to recent COVID-19 developments, will likely show up in the March 2021 LMCI readings.