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US hiring slowed in March – but the jobs market remains historically tight in a trend that could put pressure on the embattled Federal Reserve to proceed with another interest rate hike.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 236,000 last month, according to the Labor Department’s closely-watched March jobs report released Friday.
The figure was roughly in line with expectations. Prior to the March jobs report’s release, economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast jobs growth of 238,000.
The US unemployment rate sank slightly to just 3.5%, down from 3.6% in February.
“Employment continued to trend up in leisure and hospitality, government, professional and business services, and health care,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a release.
Average hourly wages ticked 0.3% higher, slightly more than economists expected. Wages have increased by just 4.2% over the last 12 months – the slowest clip since mid-2021.
