Federal Reserve
The Great Deceleration: U.S. Job Growth Stalls as Unemployment Ticks to 4.4%
The U.S. labor market has entered a precarious "low-hire, low-fire" equilibrium, with the latest March 2026 jobs report revealing a sharp deceleration in hiring. Nonfarm payrolls grew by a meager 50,000—the lowest monthly gain since the 2020 recovery—while the unemployment rate has settled into