US Reports Drop in Hiring for March

U.S. employers hired workers at the weakest pace in more than a year in March, with a net gain of only 126,000 jobs. That snapped a 12-month streak of gains above 200,000. Friday's report from the Labor Department also said the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.5 percent. The job gains were about half of what most economists had predicted and raised uncertainties about the world's largest economy, which for months has been the envy of other industrialized nations for its robust hiring and growth. Employers now appear wary about the economy, especially as a strong dollar has slowed U.S. exports, home sales have sputtered and cheaper gasoline has yet to unleash more consumer spending. Some of the economic weakness, however, may prove temporary. An unseasonably cold March followed a brutal winter that slowed key sectors of the economy. Economists noted that for months, hiring has been stronger than other gauges of the economy, suggesting that a pullback in job gains was inevitable. Job growth has been "increasingly out of tune with other economic indicators," James Marple, senior economist at TD Economics, wrote in a research note. "The reckoning in March closes at least some of this gap.'' "Employers aren't laying people off,'' noted Patrick O'Keefe, director of economic research at the consulting firm CohnReznick. "What they've decided to do is slow down the pace at which they're hiring until they have more confidence.'' Jobs declined in the mining and logging category, which includes the oil industry that has been hurt by plunging prices for crude oil. Payrolls in the sector were down by 11,000. Manufacturing was down 1,000 jobs, snapping a 19-month hiring streak. Construction employment also fell by 1,000, the first drop in 15 months. Hiring at restaurants plunged from February. But some categories showed gains. Health care added 22,000 workers. Professional and business services — a sector that includes lawyers, engineers, accountants and office temps — gained 40,000. Financial services expanded by 8,000, and retailers maintained their 12-month pace by adding 25,900. In addition to reporting sluggish hiring for March, the government revised downward its estimate of job gains in February and January by a combined 69,000. Wage growth in March remained weak. Average hourly wages rose 7 cents to $24.86 an hour. That marked a year-over-year pay increase of just 2.1 percent. But because average hours worked fell in March for the first time in 15 months, Americans actually earned less on average than they did in February. Tepid pay increases have been a drag on the economy since the Great Recession ended nearly six years ago. The Labor Department data also showed that the number of unemployed Americans was little changed at 8.6 million. Some information for this report came from AP.



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