Aicher finishes second in downhill to cut Vonn and Shiffrin leads in World Cup standings

VAL DI FASSA, Italy (AP) — With neither injured Lindsey Vonn nor Mikaela Shiffrin starting a World Cup downhill on Friday, Emma Aicher seized her chance to cut the American superstars’ leads in the season-long standings.

Aicher, the Olympic downhill silver medalist, placed second — just 0.01 behind first-time winner Laura Pirovano, pushing Olympic champion Breezy Johnson down to third — and reduced Vonn’s lead in the downhill points race to just 14 with two races left.

Vonn’s hugely successful World Cup season at age 41 was ended by a nasty crash one month ago at the Milan Cortina Olympics that wrecked her left leg.

Aicher’s 80 World Cup points Friday also reduced Shiffrin’s lead in the overall standings to 139 ahead of another downhill scheduled Saturday.

The tightening race for the giant crystal globe trophy with eight races left could see Shiffrin make a rare start in a super-G Sunday. Chasing a sixth career World Cup overall title. Shiffrin has so far accrued all her points in slalom and giant slalom.

Friday’s race was a replacement for the downhill five weeks ago at Swiss resort Crans-Montana, abandoned after Vonn crashed and tore the ACL in her left knee.

Pirovano was a popular winner on home snow getting a first win, also a first podium finish, in her 125th World Cup start.

The 28-year-old Italian has been a model of consistency reeling off top-10 results this season and sixth place in the Olympic downhill at nearby Cortina d’Ampezzo.

“It’s unbelievable what happened," Pirovano said. "The confidence was there, I knew I was skiing well. Today it seems is the day.”

An elusive first victory lifted her to third in the downhill standings, trailing 64 behind Vonn and 50 back of Aicher.

“I don’t want to think about it too much. What will be, will be,” Pirovano said. The final downhill is March 21 at the World Cup finals week meeting in Norway.

Pirovano was among the few racers to top 130 kph (81 mph) on a sunny, still and freezing day that was ideal for the marquee speed discipline.

Two former Olympic champions dropped out of contention after losing time on the bottom half of the 2.3-kilometer (1 2/5-mile) course.

Corinne Suter, the 2022 Olympics gold medalist, looked set to match her win last weekend at Soldeu, Andorra, but placed eighth, 0.49 behind Pirovano.

Sofia Goggia, the 2018 champion and bronze medalist at Cortina last month, was 0.90 back in 17th.

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Italy's Laura Pirovano sits in the leaders' corner at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati) CORRECTION: Date corrected to March 6, instead of February 27.

United States' Breezy Johnson celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati) CORRECTION: Date corrected to March 6, instead of February 27.

Germany's Emma Aicher speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Luciano Bisi) CORRECTION: Date corrected to March 6, instead of February 27.

Italy's Laura Pirovano speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Luciano Bisi) CORRECTION: Date corrected to March 6, instead of February 27.

Italy's Laura Pirovano celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati) CORRECTION: Date corrected to March 6, instead of February 27.

Italy's Laura Pirovano sits in the leaders' corner at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, February. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Breezy Johnson celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, February. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Germany's Emma Aicher speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, February. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Luciano Bisi)

Italy's Laura Pirovano speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, February. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Luciano Bisi)

Italy's Laura Pirovano celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Friday, February. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate blipped up to 4.4%.

The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring deteriorated from January, when companies, nonprofits and government agencies added a healthy 126,000 jobs. Economists had expected 60,000 new jobs in February.

Revisions also cut 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls.

The surprisingly weak employment picture in February adds to the economic uncertainty over the war with Iran, which has caused oil prices to surge and saddled business and consumers with unforeseen costs.

“The job market is struggling in the face of so many headwinds,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “ Companies are going to be even more reluctant to hire this spring until the war ends and they can see consumers still spending. It’s a tense time for the U.S. economy.”

The job market had been expected to rebound this year from a lackluster 2025 when the economy, buffeted by President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies and the lingering effects of high interest rates, generated just 15,000 jobs a month. Hopes for a rebound rose after January hiring came in above expectations.

"Just when it looked like the labor market was stabilizing, this report delivers a knock-down blow to that view,'' said Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economics at Fitch Ratings. It’s bad news whichever way you look at it.''

The job losses were widespread.

Construction companies cut 11,000 jobs last month, which likely reflects reflect frigid weather. And healthcare firms shed 28,000 jobs after a four-week strike by more than 30,000 nurses and other front-line workers at Kaiser Permanente in California and Hawaii. Health care has been one of the job market's strong points.

Factories cut 12,000 jobs and have now lost jobs for 14 of the last 15 months. Restaurants and bars lost nearly 30,000 jobs. Administrative and support services firms cut nearly 19,000 jobs and courier and messenger services almost 17,000.

Financial firms added 10,000 jobs, though job cuts continue to hit that sector as well this year.

Average hourly wages rose 0.4% from January and 3.8% from a year earlier.

The outlook for the job market – and the entire economy – is clouded by the war with Iran.

Employers were reluctant to hire last year because of uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs – and the unpredictable way he rolled them out.

The impact of Trump’s aggressive trade policies may recede in 2025. His import taxes became smaller and less erratic after he reached a trade truce last year with China and deals with leading U.S. trade partners such as Japan and the European Union. A lot of businesses have also learned how to offset the costs of the tariffs, often by passing them along to customers via higher prices.

Brian Bethune, an economist at Boston College, said that Trump’s 2025 tariffs were a shock to companies’ business plans. Now, just as they’ve adjusted to them, “Guess what! All of a sudden their 2026 business plans are upended by an increase in fuel costs’’ caused by the war with Iran.

The combination of weak hiring and increasing inflationary pressures arising from the war creates a nightmare for the Federal Reserve, which must decide whether to cut interest rates to help the job market or hold off to help keep a lid on prices. "This is probably the worst scenario for monetary policy,'' said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James.

Hiring continues to lag far behind the hiring boom of 2021-2023 when the economy was bouncing back from pandemic lockdowns and the United States was adding nearly 400,000 jobs a month. Many economists describe today’s job market as “no-hire, no-fire’’: Companies are reluctant to add workers but don’t want to let go of the ones they have.

Companies may also be holding off on hiring as they buy, install and figure out how best to use new technologies, including artificial intelligence. AI, after all, potentially means they “can do more with less’’ and will need fewer workers, especially for entry-level positions, said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the tax and consulting firm RSM.

They are thinking, he said, “we’ve invested an awful lot of money in (capital expenditures), and we need to see how much we can produce with our current labor force... The last thing you want to do is hire a lot of young people and then let them go.’’

AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.

FILE - Construction workers install a lumber roof at a new home build Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)