American employers added 151,000 solid jobs last month, but the prospects are cloudy because President Donald threatens a trade war, purges the federal workforce and promises to deport millions of immigrants.
Washington (AP) – American employers added 151,000 solid jobs last month, but the prospects are cloudy because President Donald Trump threatens a trade war, purges the federal workforce and promises to deport millions of immigrants.
The Labor Department reported on Friday that hiring was up 125,000 revised in January. Economists expected 160,000 new jobs last month.
The unemployment rate increased slightly to 4.1%, the number of unemployment of Americans increased by 203,000.
Employment has increased in health care, finance and transport and storage. The federal government has lost 10,000 jobs since June 2022, although economists have not expected Trump’s federal layoffs have a lot of impact before the job report in March. Restaurants and bars reduced nearly 28,000 jobs last month in addition to a loss of almost 30,000 in January.
“The labor market continues to resist, but we are still far from the place where we were a year or two years ago,” said Sarah House, principal economist at Wells Fargo.
House expects hiring to slow down and unemployment slips higher while Trump continues to reduce programs spending and reduce federal workforce, while imposing prices on American trade partners.
Expenditure reductions “are likely to manage in the private sector, to strike entrepreneurs and non -profit organizations, and we always have a trade war that resumes,” said House. “There are several battles so that the labor market is fighting, several shocks that he must work in the coming months.”
The unexpected resumption of the economy of the pandemic recession of 2020 destroyed a vague inflationist which culminated in June 2022 when prices reached 9.1% higher than it had been a year earlier.
In response, the Federal Reserve increased its reference interest rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023, bringing it to the highest level in more than two decades. The economy has remained robust despite higher borrowing costs, defying the expectations of a recession, thanks to strong consumption expenditure, large productivity gains in companies and an influx of immigrants who have softened the shortages of labor.
The American labor market has remained remarkably resilient, but it was cooled by the hiring heated by the red 2021-2023. Employers added a decent average of 168,000 jobs per month last year. But it was down 216,000 in 2023, 380,000 in 2022 and a record of 603,000 in 2021 while the economy bounced COVVI-19 locking.
Inflation dropped – falling to 2.4% in September – allowing the Fed to overthrow the course and reduce rates three times in 2024. Rail reduction should continue this year, but inflation progress has been blocked since the summer, and the Fed has retained.
The average hourly profits increased by 0.3% last month, against an increase of 0.4% in January.
The Fed officials will probably consider figures as supporting their current waiting approach in terms of interest rate reductions. Inflation is still modestly higher than the target target of the Fed, several have clearly indicated in recent remarks that they would like to see more progress before reducing their reference rate more.
Regular hiring and an expansion economy allow the Fed to stay more easily on the sidelines. If companies are starting to dismiss workers and the unemployment rate increases, the pressure could increase on the Fed to reduce rates.
On Thursday, the governor of the Fed, Chris Waller, suggested that a cup was unlikely at the central bank’s March meeting, adding that Fed officials would like to see more data before making other movements.
Rick Gillespie, Commercial Director of Columbus, revives Environment Environment Technology LLC, based in Ohio, said that it was optimistic about the prospects of the environmental contamination and water treatment company despite the uncertain economy.
Revive, which currently has 34 full -time employees, plans to add a total of 10 to 20 workers in Columbus, Ohio and Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the coming months, said Gillespie. Revive has found a way to destroy a toxic chemical called PFAS which is in everyday items such as non -stick kitchen utensils, waterproof weather jackets and mobile phones and can be found in discharges, drinking water and industrial wastewater.
Others see a shaking in the economy.
Sheela Mohan-Peterson, who has a deductible from the Patrice & Associates recruitment company, said that she was starting to obtain more curriculum vitae from senior executives working in biotechnological and high-tech companies. “We are talking about level C Suite”-financial directors, technology directors, even some CEOs, she said.
She used to perhaps get one of these curriculum vitae per month. Since the end of last year, she has seen one or two a week. “He accelerated definitively last month,” she said. Mohan-Peterson believes his benefits of chaotic federal expenses.
“In particular the startups, they depend on federal subsidies to start, and they are starting to see them disappear or threaten to disappear,” she said. “They start to get rid of their well -paid leaders so that they can save money because they cannot count on these subsidies.”
A former biotechnology lawyer, Mohan-Peterson acquired his recruitment franchise in 2023, and she saw the cool labor market since then. “2023 was great. There were a lot of jobs around, ”she said. “2024, I started to see a slowdown. It was very, very light. But towards the end of the year, he began to become more and more difficult to find investments for highly qualified workers. ”
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The AP Economic writer Christopher Rugaber and the editor of the retail sale of Ap Anne of Nnocenzio in New York contributed to this story.
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