The US unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in nearly three decades in March, but the roaring economy showed signs of slowing as new jobs grew at an anaemic pace, the US Labour Department said yesterday.
However, the softness of the nonfarm payrolls data - which makes it more likely that the US Federal Reserve will maintain a neutral stance on interest rates - had little impact on the dollar in a holiday-thinned market. European markets were closed for the Easter holiday, and although Good Friday is not a holiday for US banks or the US government, most financial desks were manned by skeleton staffs eager to finish early for the weekend.
The US jobless rate slid to 4.2 per cent from 4.4 per cent in February. The March rate was the lowest since a matching 4.2 per cent rate in February 1970.
But the number of workers on US payrolls grew last month by a slight 46,000, the weakest showing since a blizzard in January 1996 caused payrolls to drop by 48,000.
Helping to drag down payroll growth in March was a steep decline of 47,000 in construction jobs, which the Labour Department blamed on cold weather.
"March construction hiring fell short of seasonal expectations, in part because of unseasonably cold weather in many areas of the country during the survey reference period," said Ms Katharine Abraham, commissioner of the Labour Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics.
