American hiring bounced back in March, but a slowdown still looms

American hiring rebounded last month after an unusually weak job market in February, but signs still point to a gradual economic slowdown.

The US economy added 196,000 jobs in March, up from 33,000 the prior month. Despite a slight upward revision from the original estimate, February hiring remained the weakest since September 2017.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, a level near historic lows.

While March hiring was robust, it brings the first-quarter average to 180,000 jobs created per month, down from 223,000 per month on average in 2018. Economists have been expecting a slowdown, and so far it looks gradual enough to support the idea that the economy may glide to a lower level of activity in 2019 rather than shudder to a halt.