Hiring slowed in March as U.S. job market shows signs of cooling

(CBS NEWS) — Employers across the U.S. continued to hire at a steady pace last month, but the labor market showed signs of cooling in the face of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy.

The economy added 236,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, in line with forecasters’ expectations of about 240,000 payroll gains. The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5%, from 3.6% in February.

Wage growth slowed, with average hourly earnings rising 4.2% over the past 12 months, down from 4.6% in February.

And more workers came off the sidelines, with the labor participation rate — a measure of workers who are employed or looking for work — edging up to 62.6%.