Hiring Remains Steady, but Wildcards Loom

The new jobs report shows that employers continued to hire at a solid pace in February, but a wave of federal firings, along with possible tariffs, may start clouding the picture going forward. Details:

• Employers added 151,000 jobs in February, up from 125,000 in January though below expectations of about 170,000, reports CNBC.
• The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% from 4%, per the AP.
• The new numbers do not reflect the wave of federal firings and layoffs that began around February 13, notes the Wall Street Journal. Those numbers will start showing up in the next monthly jobs report from the Labor Department, though the potential impact remains unclear.

• The job market remains "steady," per the Journal, though it continues to cool off. Employers added an average of 166,000 jobs a month last year, down from 216,000 in 2023, 380,000 in 2022, and a whopping 603,000 in 2021 in the wake of the pandemic.
• The markets didn't move much in reaction to the report, notes CNBC. Dow futures were essentially flat.
• President Trump's tariffs, or at least threats of them, remain a wild card going forward. "Steep tariff increases could cause adjustments in business decisions with knock-on effects on hiring and wages as business leaders navigate higher input costs and retaliatory measures," wrote Lydia Boussour of the tax and consulting firm EY, per the AP. "This could lead to a more severe job slowdown, weaker income, and restrained consumer spending amidst much higher inflation.''

(More unemployment stories.)