Mixed Signals in US Labor Market: Job Growth Slows While Unemployment Falls.

The US added 236,000 jobs in March, with the unemployment rate decreasing to 3.5%. However, the growth in average hourly earnings slowed slightly to 4.2%, indicating the Federal Reserve's efforts to quell inflation. The range of industries beginning to fade has widened, as warehousing, retail, manufacturing, construction, and financial activities either lost jobs or stayed flat over the month. The labor force grew by nearly half a million workers, and the share of Americans ages 25 to 54 who were working rose to 80.7%, the highest rate since 2001. The jobs numbers may give the Fed comfort at a tricky economic moment, and investors added to bets that interest rates would rise following the labor market data that showed a resilient pace of hiring in March.