WASHINGTON _ U.S. job growth slowed sharply in March, offsetting the hiring spurt in the prior month. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent for the sixth straight month, and wage gains went up slightly for workers.
The Labor Department's latest snapshot of the labor market on Friday came in well below analysts' expectations. Employers added a relatively modest 103,000 jobs last month, only about half of what many analysts were expecting and down from an unusually large 326,000 new jobs in February.
Economists and investors are likely to take the employment report in stride, given that it is just one month's data. For the entire first quarter, job growth has averaged about 202,000 a month, a solid number that is more than enough to absorb new entrants to the labor market as well as those who have been on the sidelines or unemployed for some time.
"The upshot is that even though March was weaker than we were expecting, there is still evidence of an acceleration in the underlying pace of employment growth," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.
Of more concern to economic growth are the heated tensions on the trade front, with rising concerns about an escalation of tariff threats from President Trump and China that could lead to a costly trade war.
Friday's jobs report showed continued healthy gains in manufacturing and mining, two industries that Trump has sought to bolster and are also getting a boost from a stronger global economy and recovery in the oil and gas business.
Construction payrolls fell last month after a burst of hiring in February, and other business categories including leisure, information, financial services and temporary-help were all flat last month.
The nation's jobless rate has been at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent since October. The labor participation rate edged down last month, while the share of working-age population that is employed held steady.
Average hourly pay for all private-sector workers went up a notch, increasing at a moderate annual rate of 2.7 percent.
