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Jobs report: US adds just 20,000 jobs, fewest monthly jobs added since Sept. 2017

Posted at 7:43 AM, Mar 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-08 17:40:41-05

The US economy added only 20,000 jobs in February, a surprisingly low number that bucked the trend of huge jobs gains in recent months.

That was the fewest jobs gained in a month since September 2017.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.8% as fewer unemployed people were looking for work. The Labor Department suggested that furloughed workers from the government shutdown returning to work also contributed to the the lower unemployment rate.