The United States economy added 126,000 jobs in March. While this is normally a strong number, the amount is being seen as a disappointment because it was roughly half of what analysts were expecting. A net gain of 252,000 jobs were expected for March.
The unemployment rate stayed at 5.5%, unchanged from February.
March’s jobs report broke a streak of jobs growth over 200,000. The report was the lowest since the end of 2013.
Average hourly earnings were also up by seven cents. As the economy has recovered, Washington has turned its attention to wage growth, or lack thereof. Republicans have criticized President Obama for stagnant growth and he had criticized them for not passing a minimum wage increase.
January and February’s jobs reports were also revised down. January was revised to 201,000 from 239,000 net gain. February was revised to 264,000 from 295,000.