US Unemployment Rate Drops to 3.5% in March with Strong Job Growth

The US economy added 236,000 jobs in March, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.5%, according to the Labor Department. The Federal Reserve may hike interest rates again next month due to persistent labor market tightness. The economy needs to create roughly 100,000 jobs per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population. The Fed has hiked its policy rate by 475 basis points since last March from the near-zero level to the current 4.75%-5.00% range.