Employers added fewer jobs in March than expected as the labor market began to fall in line with other signs that the economy is lagging, said analysts who predict slower hiring will continue in the coming months.
"Disappointing is the key word for sure, but in retrospect it really shouldn't have been surprising," said Doug Handler, chief U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight. "There will be a period of weak employment until we can kick out the last few months."
Employers added 126,000 jobs last month, far below the 245,000 jobs that was the consensus expectation of economists, the Labor Department said yesterday. January and February job numbers also were revised downward a combined 69,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained at 5.5 percent.
The sluggish job growth comes as other economic indicators have lagged as well, putting the economy's strength into question. Exports and home sales have disappointed in recent months, and plunging gasoline prices have not had the expected impact on consumer spending.
"It does add to some other recent data that suggests the economy was doing not very well in the first quarter," said Nigel Gault, co-chief economist at The Parthenon Group.
For the 12 months prior to March, at least 200,000 jobs had been added every month, gains that at times seemed to far outpace other economic numbers.
"I think the numbers are going to improve, but I doubt we're going to be running consistently at 250,000, 300,000 a month," Gault said. "The labor market, employment increases, are going to be softer than they were."
The unexpectedly weak job growth also may throw a wrench in the plans of the Federal Reserve, which has been eyeing an interest rate increase in the coming months.
"It does seem pretty unlikely that the Fed will raise interest rates in June," Gault said.
Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen has said the central bank will only raise rates when it is confident the economy can withstand the higher cost of borrowing money.
U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, speaking in a live Periscope broadcast yesterday, said the economy remains on track.
"We have more work to do, there's no doubt about it," he said, "but the economy continues to move in the right direction."
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