The hiring downturn sent shares on Wall Street lower and raised new pressure on US President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises of improving the economy.
Democrats quickly seized on the figures, with Senator Elizabeth Warren saying they showed that White House was “tanking the job market”, while White House officials brushed off their significance.
In an interview with CNBC, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said he still expected strong growth to power job creation in the months ahead.
“There will be so much activity that everybody is going to be able to find a job that wants one,” he said.
The report also complicates the questions facing the US central bank.
The Federal Reserve would typically respond to a weakening labour market by cutting borrowing costs, in hopes of giving the economy a boost.
But analysts said the risk that a sustained leap in oil prices could put upward pressure on prices may give policymakers pause for thought.
“Today’s numbers may have put the Fed between a rock and a hard place,” said Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.