The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) first jobs report since President Donald Trump fired the head of the agency showed the U.S. labor market growing more slowly than economists expected, and actually losing jobs for the first time since the pandemic earlier in the summer.<br /><br />The Friday report found that employers added just 22,000 jobs the month of August, continuing a slowdown in hiring. The unemployment rate also slightly increased to 4.3%, its highest level since 2021—though still low in historical terms.
