Hiring rebounded in March as U.S. employers added a solid 196,000 jobs, up sharply from February's scant gain and evidence that many businesses still want to hire in spite of signs that the economy is slowing down.
 
The unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, near the lowest level in almost 50 years, the Labor Department reported Friday. Wage growth slowed a bit in March, with average hourly pay growing 3.2% from a year earlier. That was down from February's year-over-year gain of 3.4%, which was the best in a decade.
 
The figures reported Friday suggest that February's anemic job increase — revised to 33,000, from an initial 20,000 — was basically a short term blip and that businesses are confident the economy continues to be on a firm ground. In spite of the current expansion nearly 10 years old, the U.S. economy is revealing resilience.
 
Meanwhile, the economy is facing various obstacles, from cautious consumers to slower growth in business investment to a U.S.-China trade war that is contributing to a weakening global economy.
 
So far this year, job gains have averaged 180,000 a month, easily sufficient to reduce the unemployment rate over time, though down from a 223,000 average last year.
 
In March, job growth was strongest in the service sector. Health care added 61,000 jobs, restaurants and bars 27,000 and professional and business services, which includes high-paying farms including engineering and accounting, added 37,000. Manufacturers reduce 6,000 jobs, whilst construction added 16,000.
 
The overall economy is sending mixed signals. Most indicators recommend much slower growth this year compared with 2018. That would imply that hiring might also weaken from last year's strong pace.
 
In February, employers added a remarkably low 20,000 jobs, the fewest in almost a year and a half, though that pullback likely reflected extreme weather and other temporary factors. Another weak jobs report Friday, though, would stimulate concerns about a downshift in growth.
 
Customers have revealed warning so far this year. Retail sales fell in February, and a broader measure of consumer spending slipped in January, probably reflecting a waning effect of the Trump administration's tax cuts. Businesses have also reined in their spending on industrial machinery and other equipment and on factories and other buildings.
 
And in Europe and Asia, weaker economies have reduced demand for U.S. exports. Europe is on the edge of downturn, with its factories shrinking in March at the fastest pace in six years, according to a private survey.
 
The U.S. trade war with China has weighed on the Chinese economy, that has weakened Southeast Asian nations that ship electronic components and other goods that are built into consumer products in China's factories.
 
Economists now predict that the U.S. economy will expand approximately 2% to 2.5% this year, down from 2.9% last year. Still, most economists have predict a bounce-back in hiring in March to about 170,000 added jobs, according to data provider FactSet. The unemployment rate is likely to remain near a half-century low of 3.8%.
 
Some good signals for the economy have come out in recent weeks: Sales of both new and existing homes rose in February after dropping last year. More Americans are applying for mortgages now that rates have fallen.
 
And some of the weakness in spending earlier this year potentially reflected delays in issuing tax refunds because of the government shutdown. Refunds mainly caught up with their pace in previous years in March, economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said, hinting that spending may as well.
 
The low unemployment rate and continual hiring have likewise raised Americans' paychecks. Average wages grew 3.4% in February in comparison with a year ago, the fastest such pace since the recession.
 
If wage growth continues to increase, it should fuel more spending and lift the economy in the upcoming months.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com