The U.S. labor market has begun to show cracks—employers added 22,000 jobs in August, far fewer than expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, the highest since late 2021, reported The Washington Post.

“The drop-off capped four months of significantly slower jobs growth, a turning point after years of steady post-pandemic gains. Until now, economists have largely credited the job market’s resilience for keeping the country out of a recession. But with hiring slowing and industries across the economy, including manufacturing, construction, professional and business services and the government … there are growing concerns that the labor market’s decline could set off broader economic trouble,” wrote the outlet.

“At this point, the job market is at stall speed,” said Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors and a former Federal Reserve economist. “It’s hanging out in a place of very, very slow growth, and that makes the economy vulnerable to a recession.”

On Friday, new data for June showed a loss of 13,000 jobs that month, the first negative reading since December 2020 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, the report highlighted that employers have added 88,000 jobs in the past three months, roughly one-third of last summer’s count.

Opportunities for U.S. job seekers have become “increasingly scarce, even though layoffs remain low, as high interest rates have weighed on the economy and employers nationwide pull back on hiring in response to new international trade levies and a crackdown on immigration that has curbed labor supply,” the Post wrote.

“This jobs report is not good news for the economy,” said Laura Ullrich, director of economic research for North America at Indeed. “This is the slowest labor market we’ve seen in 15 years outside of the pandemic.”

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