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NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long noted that Friday's jobs report – with 20,000 jobs gained in February – is not low enough to cause immediate concern.  

"February job growth was surprisingly slow as employers added to payrolls at the slowest pace since September 2017," said Long. "One poor report should not set off alarm bells, but given that the labor market is the lynchpin for the entire economy, it does add to existing concerns and raises the stakes for next month's report."

The unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in February as the labor force participation rate remained at 63.2 percent, matching the highest figure since September 2013.

In other report data, private-sector payroll employment increased 25,000 jobs during February. The goods-producing sector decreased 32,000 jobs, while the service sector increased 57,000 jobs. Public sector employment fell 5,000 from the prior month.

Average hourly earnings increased 11 cents to $27.66 in February. Over the last 12 months, wages are up 3.4 percent, which is the highest level of the recovery. Since 2009, wage growth has averaged just 2.3 percent.

Long's analysis was also featured in The Hill, MarketWatch and HousingWire.