Weak Jobs Report Clouds the Economic Picture

Employers increased payrolls by only 20,000 in February, a stark contrast to the two preceding months.

The Labor Department released its monthly hiring and unemployment figures for February on Friday morning, providing one of the better snapshots of the state of the American economy.

■ 20,000 jobs were added last month. Analysts had expected a gain of about 175,000, according to MarketWatch. It was the 101st straight month of job gains, but the weakest report since September 2017.

■ The unemployment rate was 3.8 percent. It was 4 percent in January.

■ Average hourly earnings rose by 0.4 percent after growing by 0.1 percent in January. The year-over-year gain is now 3.4 percent.

Trends behind the numbers

January’s payroll gains were exhilarating. February’s numbers were disappointing. Together they offer a potent reminder that each monthly employment report from the Labor Department captures just a moment in time. Longer-term trends are what matter, and the streak of job growth continues to set records.

Still, as Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist of Northern Trust in Chicago, said: “This is a disappointing report. I don’t think there’s any way to sugarcoat it.” Rising wage growth is good for workers, but combined with soft payroll growth, he said, “it’s a signal we need to be cautious with the U.S. economic outlook.”