Employers added just 20,000 jobs in February, far below the 180,000 Bloomberg consensus and the fewest gains since September 2017 when employment was hindered by major hurricanes.
The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 162 points, or 0.64 percent, to 25,311 in early trading Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index also declined 21 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,728. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.75 percent to 7,366.
Stocks have been on a losing streak all week.
"I think the federal shutdown and the weather are playing games with the numbers. Month to month numbers can be noisy," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina. "But the overall picture is that the economy is slowing and that's why the market is taking it so negatively."
The top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday included Abercombie & Fitch, Exxon Mobil, Etsy, GameStop, Kraft Heinz, Netflix, Tilray and Vodafone. (Photo: zoom-zoom / Getty Images)
Mild weather in January helped to boost gains in that month, while above-average snowfall when the Labor Department conducted its survey in February was predicted to cut total hiring estimates by 40,000, according to Goldman Sachs.
Jobs report: Economy added just 20,000 jobs in February amid slowing growth, snowy weather
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The unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent from 4 percent in February, according to the government, as federal workers who identified as unemployed or on temporary leave in January returned to work.
Adding to worriesThe markets were poised for a lower open even before the jobs report came in. A report from The New York Times on Thursday revealed that a broad trade agreement between the U.S. and China is still missing key details, suggesting a final deal is still a ways off.
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Other reports this week had revived fears of a weakening global economy.
Earlier this week, the European Central Bank reduced its estimates for economic expansion in the eurozone and decided on more stimulus. In China, that country's exports dropped by 20.7 percent year over year in February, far more than the estimated 4.8-percent decline.
"We saw the ECB come out more dovish than it had been, which was a surprise," said Zaccarelli. "Since it made such an about-face really underscores the weakness there."
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John Bogle, who founded the Vanguard Group in 1974 and later was dubbed the "father of index investing," has died at 89. USA TODAY
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