The latest US jobs report was ugly, and it points to a job market that is quietly weakening — bad news for workers and a warning sign for investors.

• The economy lost jobs last month instead of adding the roughly 80,000 expected, and earlier months were revised down too.
• Wages barely rose, a sign workers have lost the power to demand raises.
• The unemployment rate ticked down, but only because more people gave up looking for work entirely.
• A likely culprit is AI replacing jobs — Wells Fargo openly admitted it plans to cut a lot of workers as it leans on automation.
• The recent hiring burst after the trade and ceasefire news now looks like a one-off, with the real trend pointing down.

Outlook: A rate hike is now off the table, but if unemployment starts climbing, markets could quickly panic about a recession.