Was February’s lackluster job growth a blip or a trend?

Ben Bradford Apr 4, 2019

Was February’s lackluster job growth a blip or a trend?

Ben Bradford Apr 4, 2019

Job seekers arrive at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for The Opportunity Hiring Fair in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2017. MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

In February, the government reported employers added just 20,000 jobs, a figure that fell far below expectations. The overall unemployment rate still fell, to 3.8 percent, and wages rose. But was that jobs creation figure an anomaly or the start of a trend? With the March jobs figure coming out Friday, what will economists be looking for?

Correction (April 4, 2019): The audio version of this story has been changed to correct David Shulman’s name.

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