AP NewsWatch

I'm Ben Thomas with NAP News Minute.

U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 178,000 new jobs in March, rebounding from

a dismal February in which 133,000 jobs were lost.

The Labor Department report shows the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%.

The numbers got a lift from the end of a strike that had idled 30,000 health care workers in February.

Warmer weather also helped the construction industry add 26,000 jobs.

The drop in unemployment was caused partly because almost 400,000 people dropped out of the labor market.

That means fewer people were competing for work.

The labor market has been shrinking partly because people are getting older and retiring

and partly because of President Trump's immigration crackdown.

The job market is expected to weaken going forward as the Iran war and higher energy prices take a toll.

That's the Peace Paul Wiseman and I'm Ben Thomas.