Hiring Drops As US Employers Add Only 20,000 Jobs

A bilingual help wanted sign for Auto Zone, a retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, is posted outside the store in Canton, Miss., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. The central Mississippi city has a growing Spanish-speaking population and some merchants are actively recruiting bilingual counter help. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
FILE- In this Sept. 27, 2018, file photo a bilingual help wanted sign for Auto Zone, a retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, is posted outside the store in Canton, Miss. Another healthy picture of... FILE- In this Sept. 27, 2018, file photo a bilingual help wanted sign for Auto Zone, a retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, is posted outside the store in Canton, Miss. Another healthy picture of hiring is expected when the U.S. government issues its September jobs report Friday, Oct. 5. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) MORE LESS
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring tumbled in February as U.S. employers added just 20,000 jobs, the fewest in nearly a year and a half.

The Labor Department says the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent from 4 percent. Businesses stepped up their competition for workers and raised average hourly pay 3.4 percent from a year earlier, the largest gain in a decade.

The sharp slowdown in hiring, which may have been worsened by unseasonably cold weather, comes after employers added a blockbuster 311,000 jobs in January, the most in nearly a year. In the past three months, job gains have averaged 186,000.

Still, the pullback comes amid signs that growth is slowing because of a weaker global economy, a trade war between the United States and China, and signs of caution among consumers.

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Notable Replies

  1. heard over at yahoo! finance: “TIMBER!!!”

  2. According to a “Market Watch” segment I heard on NPR this morning the consensus prediction of labor force experts was an expectation of approximately 184,000 jobs added. It’ll be interesting to see the spin Sanders and Trump put on this. Undoubtedly it proves the House is destroying the economy.

  3. There’s always a tweet:

    ETA: They dug around for some good news, and luckily found some just in time for International Women’s Day:

  4. Well, this fell way below expectations.

    Anyone have data on revisions to prior months? The last few months there have been some substantial net downward revisions. It’s the sort of thing that makes you go hmmmmmm with this Administration.

  5. It’s the sort of thing that makes only 56% of the electorate go hmmmmmm with this Administration.

    FIFY

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