Stocks Slide After Weak February Jobs Report

Summary

WSJ What’s News — PM Edition

Episode: "Stocks Slide After Weak February Jobs Report"

Date: March 6, 2026
Host: Alex Osoloff
Guests: Justin Leihart (WSJ Economics Reporter), Hannah Aaron Lange (WSJ Markets Reporter), Lindsay Wise (WSJ Congressional Reporter)

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Episode Overview

This episode zeroes in on a surprisingly weak February jobs report—which triggered stock declines and reignited fears about the U.S. economy’s trajectory. The episode covers the latest unemployment data, the market reaction amid global tensions, and notable political developments in Washington, including President Trump’s new pick for Department of Homeland Security and unfolding stories about U.S. policy abroad.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. February Jobs Report & Market Reaction

• Key Data: U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, a stark reversal from January’s 126,000 job gain, and far worse than the expected 50,000 job gain.
• Unemployment Rate: Rose slightly to 4.4%.
• Noteworthy Sector Losses: Healthcare and social assistance (-18,000 jobs), construction, manufacturing, information, leisure, and hospitality all shed jobs.
• Expert Analysis:
  • Justin Leihart [01:42]:
    • “There was a strike at Kaiser Permanente, and that did knock several thousand jobs off of healthcare employment. Also, there was a really outsized gain in healthcare in January. So some of this was a give back to that. And some people think that the data may just be a little more volatile than it used to be. But, you know, overall, this is a very weak report.”
  • [02:32]:
    • “We don't really have, like, a strong sense of how many jobs the economy needs to add each month to keep unemployment rates steady anymore. That's because with immigration restrictions, the population just isn't growing like it used to, especially the working age population.”
• Fed Implications:
  • No immediate expectation of rate changes; weak job numbers could pave the way for cuts later this year.

2. Global & Political Tensions

• Middle East Conflict:
  • President Trump calls for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” [03:40]
    • “[Trump] said the US and allies would… work to strengthen Iran's economy” if conditions are met.
  • U.S. Evacuations: Nearly 24,000 Americans brought home; logistical challenges for companies like Google.
  • Military Strike Controversy: U.S. officials believe American forces likely responsible for an airstrike that killed dozens of children at a girls’ elementary school in Iran.
    • U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth: “The U.S. is investigating the strike.” [04:55]
• Cuba:
  • Trump predicts the Cuban government may “fall pretty soon.”
  • Federal prosecutors in Florida forming working groups to build criminal cases against Cuban leaders.

3. Market Rundown

• Stocks Slide:
  • Nasdaq led losses, down 1.6% on the day.
  • Dow down 3% for the week (worst since April 2025), S&P down 2%, Nasdaq off 1.2%.
• Oil Prices Surge:
  • Oil prices rose above $9 (presumably per some new benchmark) after conflict forced de facto closure of Strait of Hormuz.
  • Stagflation Fears:
    • Hannah Aaron Lange [05:49]:
      • "Stocks fell again today, and one of the big reasons had to do with oil prices ... and then the jobs report was a lot worse than economists expected ... That's stirring up these fears of stagflation, which is a scenario in which economic growth stalls but inflation continues to rise, which would be pretty bad news for investors."

4. Politics & Policy

• DHS Nominee: Markwayne Mullen [07:22]
  • Former MMA fighter, Trump ally, Oklahoma Senator.
  • Reputation: Fierce defender of Trump’s policies, “Trump whisperer”, credited for getting involved directly during January 6 events.
  • Lindsay Wise [07:54]:
    • "His profile has really risen in the last couple of years as he got very close with Trump. He talks to him a lot. He says they're very good friends...fierce defender of all of Trump's policies, from national security, the Iran war, and also border security policies, deportations."
    • Notable for: Walking Congress halls bouncing a ball, cowbow hat in chambers, reputation as a "man of action."
  • On Immigration Policy [09:35]:
    • Mullen: “If they're wanting to talk about equipment that the ICE agents use, okay. But if they're wanting to make it harder for ICE agents to enforce the nation[’s] laws...we're not going to go down that path.”
  • Senate Confirmation: He'll need Senate confirmation, but could potentially proceed without Democratic support.
• Other Political Headlines:
  • Rep. Tony Gonzalez won’t seek reelection following scandal.
  • Customs and Border Protection to begin issuing tariff refunds following a Supreme Court ruling; $166 billion in affected payments.

5. Media & Global Business Updates

• Challenge brewing to Nexstar’s $6.2B deal to acquire Tegna.
• Axel Springer (German publisher) outbids Daily Mail to take over UK’s Daily Telegraph.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Justin Leihart (Economics Reporter):
  • “Construction shedding jobs, manufacturing shedding jobs, information shedding jobs, leisure and hospitality shedding jobs. I mean, it was really, you know, just not, not a good report at all.” [01:59]
• Hannah Aaron Lange (Markets Reporter):
  • “Stocks fell again today, and one of the big reasons had to do with oil prices...That’s stirring up these fears of stagflation, which is a scenario in which economic growth stalls but inflation continues to rise, which would be pretty bad news for investors.” [05:49]
• Lindsay Wise (Congressional Reporter):
  • “He also was on the floor of the house on January 6, helped barricade it against the protesters. So, you know, he's seen as a fighter.” [08:59]
• Markwayne Mullen (Senator, DHS Nominee):
  • “We want the ICE agents to enforce the nation's laws. Why? Because we're a nation that enforces laws, and we don't want to be a lawless nation.” [09:46]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Jobs Report Overview: [00:48] – [03:36]
• Market Reaction & Oil: [05:49] – [06:32]
• Trump’s Foreign Policy Statements (Iran & Cuba): [03:40] – [05:49]
• DHS Nominee Profile & Immigration Stance: [07:22] – [10:21]
• Tariffs & Trade News: [10:25] – [11:03]
• Media & M&A Updates: [11:03] – [12:05]

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Summary Takeaway

This episode delivers a rapid, concise rundown of a market-rattling jobs report, surging oil prices amid global military tensions, and the persistence of hardline immigration policies with the nomination of Markwayne Mullen—an MMA fighter turned senator—as DHS secretary. The discussions highlight mounting economic risk, political polarization around immigration, and ongoing geopolitical volatility, painting a complex picture for both investors and policymakers.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's Ryan Knudson, host of the Journal Podcast, our show about money, business, and power. If you're looking for more deeply reported stories, like we share every day, consider becoming a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal. Visit subscribe.WSJ.com TheJournal all lowercase to subscribe now.

[B]

In an unexpected downturn, the US lost 92,000 jobs in February. Plus, President Trump's new pick to head the Department of Homeland Security is a signal that the president doesn't plan to back off his signature immigration tactics.

[C]

I think that Mullen is 100% on board with Trump's immigration policies and deportation efforts. What'll be interesting to see is whether his relationships on Capitol Hill might make his job a little bit easier.

[B]

And Trump calls for Iran's, quote, unconditional surrender. It's Friday, March 6th. I'm Alex Osoleff for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's News, the top headline and business stories that move the world today. The Labor Department today reported that the US lost 92,000 jobs in February. It's a significant downturn from January's gain of 126,000 jobs. And it's also worse than the 50,000 jobs the economy was expected to add last month. And one more number, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4%. For more on these numbers, I'm joined now by WSJ economics reporter Justin lehart. Justin, healthcare jobs in particular have propped up the labor market for some time now. In February, the healthcare and social assistance sector lost more than 18,000 jobs. What happened there?

[D]

Yeah, a couple things happened. There was a strike at Kaiser Permanente, and that did knock several thousand jobs off of healthcare employment. Also, there was a really outsized gain in healthcare in January. So some of this was a give back to that. And some people think that the data may just be a little more volatile than it used to be. But, you know, overall, this is a very weak report. Construction shedding jobs, manufacturing shedding jobs, information shedding jobs, leisure and hospitality shedding jobs. I mean, it was really, you know, just not, not a good report at all.

[B]

The unemployment rate caught my eye because that's kind of been creeping up steadily over the past few years. What does that tell us about the strength of the labor market?

[D]

Yeah, I mean, so the unemployment rate, it went up to 4.4%. That's still relatively low. One thing that's going on here is that we don't really have, like, a strong sense of how many jobs the economy needs to add each month to keep unemployment rates steady anymore. That's because with immigration restrictions, the population just isn't growing like it used to, especially the working age population. So you may just not need to create as many jobs to keep up with population growth as we did before.

[B]

The Fed has to watch the jobs market and also take into account what happens with inflation. Now energy prices are rising with the Middle east conflict. So if we see this job market weakening, what does that mean for the Fed's next meeting later this month?

[D]

This month's Fed meeting, you wouldn't really expect to see any action on interest rates. They like to see more than one report to give them a direction of where things are going right. But it does open up the possibility of more rate cuts this year.

[B]

That was WSJ economics reporter Justin Leihart. Thanks, Justin.

[D]

Thanks.

[B]

In news today about the war in the Middle East, President Trump is calling for Iran's unconditional surrender and, quote, acceptable leadership in the country. He said the US and allies would then work to strengthen Iran's economy. A State Department spokesman said today that nearly 24,000Americans have returned to the US from the Middle east since the war with Iran began. But getting them out hasn't been easy. We're exclusively reporting that some 1,000 people who were in Dubai for a Google corporate sales extravaganza got stuck, stuck there. Google has since arranged for many to leave. The company says it's focused on the safety of its employees in the region. Meanwhile, US Military investigators think American forces were likely responsible for a strike that killed dozens of children at a girls elementary school in Iran. That's according to a US Official. A Wall Street Journal analysis found that the school is located on the edge of a compound linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 2 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this week that the U.S. is investigating the strike. The U.S. hasn't publicly acknowledged that its forces struck the compound. And from Iran to Cuba. President Trump told CNN today that he believes the Cuban government is going to fall pretty soon. It's his second comment in two days suggesting he anticipates a near term change to the country's government. And the Journal has learned that a federal prosecutor in Florida is looking to build criminal cases against leaders of Cuba's government and Communist Party. The U.S. attorney in Miami has created a working group across several government agencies to gather evidence for potential crimes related to drugs, immigration and other violations. The Trump administration used criminal charges as a pretext for the ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A Justice Department spokesman said that federal prosecutors work include efforts to combat transnational crime. A volatile week in trading closed out today with another down day for stocks and a big jump in the price of oil. The Nasdaq led the day's losses in the major indexes closing down 1.6%. Wall Street Journal markets reporter Hannah Aaron Lange says investors are worried about oil supply disruptions from the Middle east, war and the US Economy.

[E]

So stocks fell again today, and one of the big reasons had to do with oil prices. Oil prices continued the relentless rise amid the widening military conflict in the Middle east, and they surged above 9 after logging their biggest weekly gain on record. This has to do with the fact that the war with Iran has forced a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a key shipping route for global energy. And then the jobs report was a lot worse than economists expected. The US economy lost 92,000 jobs. That's stirring up these fears of stagflation, which is a scenario in which economic growth stalls but inflation continues to rise, which would be pretty bad news for investors.

[B]

And for the week, the Dow fell 3%, its worst showing since April 2025. The S&P slid 2% and the Nasdaq lost 1.2% this week. Coming up, the government's plan for tariff refunds. That's after the break.

[F]

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[B]

Yesterday, President Trump announced that he plans to nominate Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of Oklahoma as leader of the Department of Homeland Security. In choosing Mullen, the president selected someone as pugnacious as former Secretary Kristi Noem and signaled he doesn't plan to back off on immigration. Lindsay Wise covers Congress for the Journal and is here to tell us more about Mullen, a former MMA fighter known for being a Trump whisperer. Lindsey, what do we know about Mullen? What is he like? He was first elected to the House in 2012 and the Senate in 2022. So he's been around Washington for a while.

[C]

Yeah, his profile has really risen in the last couple of years as he got very close with Trump. He talks to him a lot. He says they're very good Friends. And I think he has been a fierce defender of all of Trump's policies, from national security, the Iran war, and also border security policies, deportations. He's been on TV a lot defending them, but also on Capitol Hill. He has close to leadership in both chambers, and he often ends up sort of in the middle of negotiations over everything from tax policy to spending bills, trying to kind of bring folks together. And that's made him, I think, very valuable to Trump.

[B]

What kind of impression does he leave around the Hill?

[C]

We often see, as members of the press corps, Mark Wayne Mullen walking around the halls of Congress, bouncing a bouncy ball in the halls. And he wears his cowboy hat on the floor, which is unusual. There's a question about whether that violates the dress code. But he also is sort of seen as a kind of man of action. And you mentioned he was a former MMA fighter. He also was on the floor of the house on January 6, helped barricade it against the protesters. So, you know, he's seen as a fighter. And some of his friends on Capitol Hill told me that's why they think that Trump picked him. And he does love to talk to the media.

[B]

Right. So Noem was pushed out after this big criticism of how DHS handled the administration's immigration crackdown. Mullen has defended ICE agents and pushed back against many changes Democrats want to see in return for restoring funds to dhs. As he said on CNBC last month,

[A]

if they're wanting to talk about equipment that the ICE agents use, okay. But if they're wanting to make it harder for ICE agents to enforce the nation laws, which, by the way, Congress passed and they're simply enforcing, we're not going to go down that path. We want the ICE agents to enforce the nation's laws. Why? Because we're a nation that enforces laws, and we don't want to be a lawless nation.

[B]

What else do we know about where Mullen stands on the administration's immigration policy?

[C]

I think that Mullen is 100% on board with Trump's immigration policies and deportation efforts. What'll be interesting to see is whether his relationships on Capitol Hill might make his job a little bit easier. He does need Senate confirmation, but he doesn't technically need Democrats to help confirm him.

[B]

That was WSJ reporter Lindsay Wise. Thanks, Lindsay.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

Elsewhere in Washington, Texas Representative Tony Gonzalez said he wouldn't seek reelection. The announcement late yesterday came shortly after top Republican House leaders asked him to drop his reelection bid. And a day after he admitted to having an affair with an aide who later killed herself. US Customs and Border Protection said today that a system for tariff refunds will be operational in 45 days. A trade court ruling earlier this week required the agency to begin refunding tariff payments collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers act, tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down last month. CBP has collected about $166 billion worth of those payments as of Wednesday. In media news, the Journal has learned that a group of states is Preparing to challenge Nexstar's planned $6.2 billion acquisition of rival broadcaster Tegna. The states would file their antitrust suit if a federal regulator clears the deal. President Trump has said he supports the merger, and across the pond, German publisher Axel Springer struck a deal to buy Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper for about 700 under $70 million, beating out a rival bid from the Daily Mail. The Telegraph, a favorite read among members of the UK Conservative Party, tends to target wealthier readers in the US Axel Springer's holdings include Politico and Business Insider. And that's what's news for this Week. Tomorrow you can look out for our weekly Markets wrap up. What's News in Markets? The episode we had planned for last Sunday shifted because of the attacks on Iran. So now this Sunday we'll have an episode of our USA 250 series about the history and future of retirement in the US that's in what's New Sunday. And we'll be back with our regular show on Monday morning. Today's show was produced by Pierre Biennime and Alexis Moore, with supervising producer Tali Arbell. Michael Lavelle wrote our theme music, Aisha Al Muslim is our development producer, Chris Insinsley is our deputy editor and Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of news audio. I'm Alex Osola. Have a great weekend and thanks for listening.

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