The spectre of a slowing U.S. economy appears to be making good on its threat.
A report out Wednesday by ADP and Moody's Analytics showed job growth hit an 18-month low in March amid increasing signs that the hiring boom may be running out of steam.
Private payrolls increased by just 129,000 for the month, well below the 173,000 that economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected. The weakness was offset somewhat by an upward revision for February, which went to 197,000 from an initially reported 183,000.
Overall, though, March was the worst month since September 2017, which saw an increase of just 111,000.
All of the gains came from services, which increased 135,000, while goods-producing industries lost 6,000 positions. A decline of 6,000 in construction and 2,000 in manufacturing was offset a bit by a 2,000-job increase in natural resources and mining.
On the plus side, according to the two agencies, education and health services saw an increase of 56,000 while professional and business services added 41,000. Leisure and hospitality grew by 13,000 while information services increased by 11,000 and trade, transportation and utilities contributed 9,000. Financial activities saw a drop of 1,000.
