The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

By Gabriel Rubin

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A shock initial estimate of 92,000 job losses in February casts a pall over a once seemingly resilient labor market. Incoming central bank chief Kevin Warsh may now be stuck between Iran war-induced inflation and a deteriorating economy. The risk of something breaking is rising.

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CONTEXT NEWS

The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%.

Federal Reserve officials cautioned that war in the Middle East poses significant upward inflationary risk, putting the central bank’s monetary policymakers in a wait-and-see stance over their future rate path.