US unemployment fell by just 88,000 in March, the lowest decline for nine months, official data has shown.
The number was much weaker than the fall of approximately 200,000 predicted by economists, and will inevitably raise new concerns about the strength of the US economic recovery.
At the same time, the US jobless rate declined to 7.6% from 7.7% in February.
A drop in retail employment was a major factor in the smaller-than-expected fall in joblessness.
The data from the Labor Department showed that the retail sector lost 24,000 jobs in March.
At the same time, 12,000 jobs were lost in the US Postal Service, which has been making staff redundant as it aims to cut losses.
Other sectors of the economy performed much better, with 51,000 extra professional and business services jobs being created, and 23,000 new healthcare positions.
Government cuts
March’s fall in unemployment was half the level of the past six months, when there was an average monthly decline of 196,000.
Another contributing factor to the weak level of job creation last month could have been the Federal spending cuts that came into effect on 1 March, and the impact this has had on confidence among companies.
The total number of unemployment people in the US in March was 11.7 million.
For adult men, the unemployment rate was 6.9%, and 7% for women.
For teenagers of both sexes, the rate was 24.2%, almost one in four people.
“The US economy just hit a major speed bump,” said Marcus Bullus, trading director at MB Capital in London.
Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, was equally disappointed.
“When you get to numbers below 100,000, you have to start worrying,” he said.
The US economy needs to add about 90,000 jobs each month just to keep up with population growth.
The disappointing unemployment data comes after other reports have indicated that the US economic recovery is continuing.
In recent weeks, figures have shown that US factory orders are rising strongly, and the housing market is still gaining in strength.