The United States hiring rate just tumbled to 3.1% in February, marking its lowest point since April 2020, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a pretty big deal because that 2020 low was when the economy was literally shut down due to the pandemic. Now, businesses are open, but folks just aren’t getting hired. The immediate question is this another economic consequence of Donald Trump’s war on Iran?
According to Fortune, in February, there were only 4.8 million hires, a number not seen since the forced closures of COVID-19. Moreover, while unemployment is sitting around 4%, employers are still barely bringing anyone on board. It’s definitely a “brutal job market,” as Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, put it. She said on X that the 3.1% hiring rate, a level not seen since the economy was completely closed, highlights how little hiring is happening right now.
