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(Newser)
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Economists forecast 180,000 new jobs in February. Not even the end: hiring fell, with US employers creating only 20,000 jobs last month, the least for almost a year and a half. The Ministry of Labor says the unemployment rate went from 4% to 3.8%. Companies intensified their competition for workers and increased their average hourly wage by 3.4% over the previous year, the largest increase in 10 years. The sharp slowdown in hiring, which may have been compounded by the unusual cold, occurred after employers set a record 311,000 jobs in January, a record for almost a year. Over the past three months, the number of jobs created has averaged 186,000. Three is taking:
- AP: "A slowdown in global growth, a trade war with China, and signs of heightened consumer caution have led many economists to predict weaker growth in the first three months of this year. most analysts expect companies to continue to recruit But it will be harder than usual to get a clear picture of the economic situation, as many data reports are still delayed due to partial closure of the government which ended on 25 January. "
- From Bloomberg: "The loss of payroll could fuel the anxiety of US consumers after the slump in retail sales in December, which was the worst of the past nine years … At the same time, policymakers and economists could wait several months for low employment before concluding that there is cause for concern.Part of this weakness could be attributed to the severity of the winter, construction jobs having fallen by 31,000.
- Of the Wall Street newspaper: New job numbers are seen as "a sign that employers may be hard-pressed to find workers as the job market narrows" … A narrower job market should theoretically also translate into growth faster wages, with employers competing for a rare workforce. Friday's report showed that this was happening. "
(Read more stories about jobs.)
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