HOUSTON - Tariffs, artificial intelligence, and general uncertainty are being blamed for a dismal August jobs report. The Labor Department reports just 22,000 new jobs were created, well below the expected 75,000. Additionally, June's job numbers were revised down to show a loss of 13,000 jobs. That's the first negative month since December 2020, during the pandemic.

Among the report's numbers, healthcare along with 'leisure and hospitality' jobs saw gains that were still below historical averages. Public-sector, professional and business services, manufacturing, and construction jobs all saw monthly losses.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3% indicating while employers are not hiring, they are not laying workers off.

The report sets the stage for the Federal Reserve to likely cut

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