WASHINGTON _ U.S. job growth slowed sharply last month, falling to its lowest level in nearly a year, according to government figures.
Just 98,000 net new jobs were added last month, reflecting, among other things, stalled hiring in construction and another significant decline in retailers' payrolls, the Labor Department said Friday.
Overall job growth in March was well below the 219,000 figure from the previous month.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent, its lowest level in nearly a decade. And wages continued to show solid growth. Employers are finding they need to pay more to attract workers in a tightening job market.
On top of that, the totals from January and February were revised down by a combined 38,000 jobs.
The number of people working and the unemployment rate are determined based on a survey of households, while the job-creation figures are calculated from payroll records provided by employers. The two sets of data can provide conflicting views of the labor market.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the Trump administration needed to start enacting policies to boost job growth instead of just talking about it.
"March's jobs report should serve as a stern warning to President Trump: Tweeting is not a strategy to create jobs for hard-working American families," she said.
For the first three months of the year, the economy has added an average of 178,000 jobs a month. That figure is down from the 187,000 monthly average last year.
A Northeastern snowstorm struck during the week that the Labor Department surveyed households about their work status. Analysts had said the strong job creation the previous two months had been boosted by unusually warm weather.
The construction industry added just 6,000 jobs in March, the worst in seven months, after payrolls surged by 59,000 in February.
Retailers continued to struggle last month, cutting their payrolls by nearly 30,000 after eliminating about 31,000 jobs in February. The two-month decline was the worst for the industry since 2009.
Hiring was off sharply for education and health services providers. They added just 16,000 jobs in March, the fewest in 15 months, after payrolls had increased by 66,000 in February.
Wages continued to show solid growth in March, with average hourly earnings increasing 5 cents to $26.14 after a 7-cent rise the previous month. Wages increased 2.7 percent for the 12 months ended March 31.
Federal Reserve ChairJanet L. Yellen and her colleagues have cited the improving labor market as a major reason they increased the benchmark short-term interest rate in March for the second time in three months. Anticipation of continued improvement led central bank policymakers to signal two more small increases this year.
