http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/06/news...x.htm?iid=Lead
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hiring slowed dramatically in March, clouding optimism about the strength of the recovery.
Employers added 120,000 jobs in the month, the Labor Department reported Friday, falling far short of economists' expectations.
The number marked a significant slowdown in hiring from February, when the economy added 240,000 jobs.
"It's discouraging that job growth was half of what it had been the previous month," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 8.2% as the labor force shrank by 164,000 workers, mostly due to white women leaving the job market.
The hardest hit industry was retail, which lost 33,800 jobs, mostly at department stores.
On the positive side, manufacturers created 37,000 jobs, professional services created 31,000 jobs, and health care added 26,000 jobs.
Restaurants and bars were also a large job creator, hiring 36,900.
Public sector job losses continued to slow. The government has been bleeding jobs since the middle of 2010, but recently those layoffs have started to wind down. The government cut just 1,000 jobs in March, while private businesses -- which have steadily been hiring for two years straight -- added 121,000 jobs.