Hiring is still going at a brisk pace in the U.S., but it’s slowing down.
The latest jobs report shows the economy added 236,000 jobs in March, a big drop from the employment gains in January and February.
The unemployment rate dropped slightly to 3.5%.
“Today’s jobs report is a goldilocks report. It really highlights that the labor market is still going strong,” said Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor. “It still is surprisingly resilient in the face of rising of interest rates, but at the same time it is cooling.”
Additionally, the report broke a record.
“The black unemployment rate fell to 5% which is actually a record low, since records began in 1972,” continued Zhao.
But analysts say growth is also getting pulled down by a rising number of layoffs.
Companies announced 270,000 jobs cuts in the first quarter of 2023, a nearly 400% increase from the same time period last year.
The report shows the leisure and hospitality, and healthcare industries are among those experiencing slowdowns.
CBS News Business Analyst Jill Schlesinger said the new data will likely please the Federal Reserve System.
“The Fed needs to see the labor market cool down, the reason is when job growth is robust, when wages are rising, it means that people have more money in their pockets and spend more, that spending can contribute to inflation,” Schlesinger said.
The next important report comes out Tuesday on consumer prices.
