http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us...owest-in-10-months-2013-04-05?dist=beforebell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The United States created the fewest number of jobs in March in 10 months, adding to a string of reports suggesting companies have cut back on new hires and that the economy is slowing again.
The economy added a seasonally adjusted 88,000 jobs last month — the smallest increase since last June — and nearly half-a-million people stopped looking for work last month, according to data issued by the Labor Department Friday.
off a bit in March
The unemployment rate fell a tick to 7.6% from 7.7%, marking the lowest level since December 2007, but the decline stemmed from more Americans dropping out of the labor force.
The participation rate, a measure of how many healthy people of working age who have a job, fell again to 63.3%. That’s the lowest level since the spring 1979.
The March jobs report fell well below Wall Street expectations. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 190,000 increase in jobs. U.S. stocks futures SPM3 -1.22% slumped after the report.