U.S. job growth slowed significantly over the past month due to retail industry shrinkage, while the unemployment rate hit an almost ten year low of 4.5 percent. Nonfarm positions increased by 98,000 jobs last month, the fewest since last May. Economists believe that a significant portion of the decline in growth can be attributed to the temperature change and major storm that struck the Northeast, causing a decrease in hiring. Hiring at construction sites, factories and leisure and hospitality businesses, which had been boosted by unseasonably warm temperatures earlier in the year, experienced a slowdown. Some Federal Reserve officials believe the labor market is at full employment; economists had forecast payrolls increasing 180,000 last month and the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.7 percent. In order to keep up with growth in the working age population, 75,000 to 100,000 jobs need to be created per month.
See "Weather dampens U.S. job growth; unemployment rate dives to 4.5 percent", Lucia Mutikani, Reuters, April 7, 2017