The economy added 126,000 jobs in March while the unemployment rate stayed steady at 5.5 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts had expected 245,000 jobs to be added. That was the lowest monthly jobs number since December 2013.
March job growth was led by health care (22,000), retail (26,000), and food and drinking places (9,000). The public sector, meanwhile, lost 3,000 jobs.
Revisions to past months were also disappointing, with 69,000 fewer than originally reported. January was revised from 239,000 to 201,000 while February was revised from 295,000 to 264,000, although both months still kept the above 200,000 streak that had lasted for 12 straight months.
One bright spot was an increased in average hourly earnings, which rose by 7 cents in March. But they are only up 2.1 percent over the last year.