US job growth was lackluster last year, but signs of stabilization, if not a rebound, were starting to emerge.
Now, a war thousands of miles away not only interrupts that potential progress, but also threatens to knock the labor market further off course.
It’s been four weeks since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran. The economic ripple effects of the escalating and deadly Middle East conflict have been swift: A choked-off critical shipping passageway has caused oil prices to shoot higher, hampered the supply chain and pushed up the cost of gasoline. Inflation fears have heightened, as has uncertainty. That’s a dynamic that