By: Li Bin Chen
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- January was one of the worst months for layoffs ever, with nearly a quarter million job cut announcements grabbing headlines.
But the real problem in the U.S. labor market today isn't layoffs. It's a hiring freeze that is gripping most work places -- and has not gotten nearly as much attention as the job cuts.
"The hiring rate has caved. That's why the job market is as bad as it is," said Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Economy.com. "Given this low hiring rate, unemployment would still rise even if layoffs were falling."
The government's key employment report, due Friday morning, doesn't detail hiring and job openings. It instead gives overall change in the number of workers on U.S. payrolls.
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