The US economy generated 110,000 new jobs in March, the US government said today in a report which was much weaker than economists had expected.
The figure represented the smallest jobs gain in eight months, as the number of manufacturing jobs shrank and retailers also shed workers.
Wall Street economists had expected an increase of around 220,000 jobs for last month. The Labor Department also lowered its estimates for January and February to 124,000 and 243,000 new jobs respectively.
The unemployment rate, calculated from a separate survey, fell from 5.4% to 5.2%.
The figures could spark concerns about the prospects for the US economy, especially with oil prices close to record levels.
The job news contrasted with reported increases in activity in the US services industry, which increased in March, according to the latest survey from the ISM.
The non-manufacturing index increased to 63.1% from 59.8% in February, the business organization of purchasing managers said. The report was well ahead of the average Wall Street estimate of 59%.
Any figure above 50 indicates expansion, and the report showed the 24th consecutive month of growth in services.
The employment component of the overall index dipped to 57.1% from 59.6 in February.
