US jobs report for March is likely to point to slower but still-solid hiring

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy is thought to have added 200,000 jobs in March — a more-than-respectable increase though one that would mark a slowdown from February’s vigorous gain of 275,000 and last year’s monthly average increase of 251,000.

A modest downshift in hiring could reassure the Federal Reserve that the economy isn’t running too hot, especially if wage growth, a key driver of inflation, also slowed last month. The Fed’s policymakers are tracking the state of the economy, the job market and inflation to determine when to begin cutting interest rates from their multi-decade highs — a move eagerly awaited by Wall Street traders, homebuyers and people in need of cars, household appliances and other major purchases that are typically financed.

The economy is sure to weigh on Americans’ minds as the November presidential vote nears and they assess President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. Many people still feel squeezed by the inflation surge that erupted in the spring of 2021. Though the inflation rate has tumbled from its peak over the past year and a half, average prices are still about 18% higher than where they were in February 2021 — a fact for which Biden could pay a political price.

When the Labor Department releases the March jobs report Friday, it’s expected to show that the unemployment rate dipped from 3.9% to 3.8%, according to forecasters surveyed by the data firm FactSet. If so, it would be the 26th straight month in which the jobless rate has remained below 4%, the longest such streak since the 1960s.

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