U.S. hiring slows as only 126,000 jobs added in March

Hiring came almost to a screeching halt during March, as employers only added 126,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report. It’s another sign that the economy experienced a significant slowdown during the first quarter of 2015 thanks to the winter.

The Labor Department said that it was the 61st straight month of job growth and that the unemployment rate did stay at 5.5 percent. But little positives like that aren’t going to make the anyone feel better. As The Wall Street Journal points out, it was the lowest gain in jobs since December 2013.

In addition, the average monthly gain for the first three months of the year was only 197,000, down from the 324,000 average seen in 2014’s last quarter. The Labor Department also adjusted estimates for February and January downward.

Analysts said that the drop in oil prices, along with the harsh weather in the Northeast, was to blame for the slowdown in hiring, notes The New York Times.

Wages rose just 0.3 percent for private-sector jobs last month, after the 0.1 rise seen in February.

image courtesy of INFphoto.com

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