The labor market in the US has perhaps never been more confusing than it is today. The latest nonfarm payroll report revealed that the US has added an average of 10k jobs per month over the last 4 months, the fewest since the 2020 recession. {chart} The total number of jobs in the US increased by 0.6% over the past year, the slowest growth rate since March 2021. In the past 50 years, this type of weakness has preceded a recession and a spike in the Unemployment Rate 100% of the time. {chart} But is this time different? Many are arguing just that, pointing to lower immigration levels as the primary factor leading to ... (full story)