Weakening economy; fewer new jobs in March.

Economists say drop-off from yearlong boom was inevitable

WASHINGTON — A weakening U.S. economy spilled into the job market in March as employers added just 126,000 jobs — the fewest since December 2013 — snapping a 12-month streak of gains above 200,000.

The unemployment rate remained at 5.5 percent, the Labor Department said in its monthly report Friday.

The March jobs data raised uncertainties about the world’s largest economy, which for months has been the envy of other industrialized nations for its robust hiring and growth. Employers now appear wary about the economy, especially as a strong dollar has slowed U.S. exports, home sales have sputtered and less expensive gasoline has yet to unleash more consumer spending.

Some of the weakness may prove temporary: An unseasonably cold March followed a brutal winter that slowed key sectors of the economy.

Last month’s subpar job growth could make the Federal Reserve less likely to start raising interest rates from record lows in June, as some have been anticipating. The Fed may decide that the economy still needs the benefit of low borrowing costs to generate healthy growth. Reflecting that sentiment, government bond yields fell Friday. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note dropped to 1.84 percent from 1.90 percent before the jobs report was released. U.S. stock markets are closed in observance of Good Friday.

Economists noted that, for months, hiring had been stronger than other gauges of the economy, suggesting that a pullback in job gains was inevitable. “Job growth has been running at a stupendous pace in America over the last several months, increasingly out of tune with other economic indicators, which have pointed to a slowdown,” James Marple, senior economist at TD Economics, wrote in a research note. “The reckoning in March closes at least some of this gap.”

At the same time, some said last month’s data looks bleak in part because hiring had been so robust in the months that preceded it.

“Employers aren’t laying people off,” said Patrick O’Keefe, director of economic research at the accounting and consulting firm CohnReznick. “What they’ve decided to do is slow down the pace at which they’re hiring until they have more confidence.”

Last month, the manufacturing, building and government sectors all shed workers. Factories cut 1,000, snapping a 19-month hiring streak. Construction jobs also fell by 1,000, the first drop in 15 months.

“Employers aren’t laying people off. What they’ve decided to do is slow down the pace at which they’re hiring.” — Patrick O’Keefe, director of economic

research at CohnReznick