Weaker U.S. Jobs Report May Spur Fed Consideration America’s employment boom fizzled in March. Payrolls increased by 126,000 workers last month, the smallest gain since December 2013 and weaker than the most pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey, a report from the Labor Department in Washington showed Friday. The advance over the prior 12 months averaged 269,000. The smaller March reading may give Federal Reserve policy makers pause as they consider the timing of an interest-rate increase that Chair Janet Yellen has said will probably occur this year. The jobs data are now more in line with recent figures showing economic growth cooled in the first quarter as energy companies pulled back, the strong dollar and tepid overseas markets hurt manufacturers and rough winter weather restrained consumer spending. “This is a soft print all the way around, no matter how you slice it,” said Omair Sharif, rates sales strategist […]