Hiring dropped in February

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals a deepening freeze in the US, with the hiring rate falling to 3.1% in February, down from 3.4% in January.

It is the steepest one-month decline since 2016 (excluding the pandemic), according to the Indeed Hiring Lab.

Economists warn that the hiring rate is inching closer to the record low of 2.9% seen during the Great Recession in 2009.

The data also shows job openings dropped to 6.88 million from 7.24 million, while voluntary quits fell to 2.97 million, signaling a lack of worker confidence.

Meanwhile, the trade deficit widened 4.9% to $57.3 billion in February, even as both imports and exports hit record highs.

Despite President Donald Trump’s claims that tariffs would boost US jobs, the manufacturing sector has lost 100,000 jobs since January 2025.

While the unemployment rate holds steady at 4.4%, the true impact of the Iran war (which began on February 28) on the American worker will be known in the coming months.