SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – New data shows the U.S. job market is cooling, with fewer people getting hired and fewer people quitting.
A report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows businesses added workers in February at the slowest pace since 2011, outside the pandemic.
The hiring rate dropped to 3.1%. Job openings fell to about 6.88 million, down from more than 7.2 million in January. The steepest pullbacks in hiring were seen in the construction and professional and business services sectors.
Layoffs ticked up slightly but still sit near recent averages.
The Missouri Jobs Center said the Ozark economy is not seeing any impacts.
“The economy, I think, is still healthy here,” said Katherine Proctor of the Missouri Jobs Center. “We are still adding jobs in key sectors and we are continuing to see that from the beginning of the year to present.”
Experts express concerns that the labor market is not just stuck, but breaking as the Middle East conflict threatens to shake the US economy.
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