Are inflation pressures easing? Jobs report may offer clues

For more than a year, the Federal Reserve’s inflation fighters have been tightening their grip on the American economy with nine straight interest rate hikes. A key goal has been to slow the sizzling pace of hiring to help cool price pressures. So far, the job market has refused to crack. Hiring was surprisingly robust in both January and February, confounding forecasters. The unemployment rate remains barely above half-century lows. The latest economic signs, though, increasingly suggest that an economic slowdown may be upon us. On Friday morning, the government will reveal whether the recent signs of weakness have finally caused hiring managers to begin a retreat.