U.S. workers are increasingly benefiting as employers struggle to fill millions of open jobs.
More people who had given up looking for work are renewing their job hunts, more employees are confident enough to quit to look for other jobs and pay is gradually picking up.
U.S. employers added just 103,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department said Friday, the fewest in six months. And job growth in January and February was revised down by a combined 50,000.
But the unemployment rate remained 4.1 percent, a 17-year low, the government said. And the government’s overall jobs report suggested that the labor market remains fundamentally healthy.
The pullback in hiring in March was likely payback in part for an explosive gain in February, economists said. Employers added 326,000 jobs that month — the largest monthly haul in two years.