Layoffs announced by U.S.-employers jumped to levels not seen since the last two recessions amid mass federal government job cuts, canceled contracts and fears of trade wars, offering the clearest sign yet of the toll taken on the labor market by the policies of President Donald Trump's administration.

The labor market picked up 151,000 jobs in February, a solid pace, despite a massive layoff among federal workers that began to show up in the data. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1 percent, extending low levels that have marked the past few years. Federal government payrolls lost 10,000 jobs in February.

The Trump administration’s massive federal cuts and swelling feelings of economic uncertainty helped fuel a recession-level spike in layoffs last month, new data showed Thursday.