US businesses are adding workers at the weakest pace in 15 years, not counting the early days of the pandemic. New data released shows a serious slowdown in the labor market, and this is happening even before the full economic impact of the Middle East conflict has hit the country.
According to CNN, the share of hires as a percentage of total employment dropped to 3.1% at the end of February. According to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is the lowest rate since April 2020, and before that, you would have to go back to 2011 to find something similar.
