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The U.S. economy faced headwinds in March as the Labor Department reported that only 126,000 jobs were created in March keeping the unemployment rate at 5.5%, this was far from the robust jobs reports of previous months.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported some deep concerns with the economy as the number of new entrants into the economy decreased by 157,000, and the labor force participation rate is at a low of 62.7%

The most striking aspect of the report is that a staggering 93 million people are not in the work force up from the 92 million as reported in February.

Market Watch reported that explanations for the slowdown vary from the cold winter weather to the slowdown at West Coast ports to the impact of low oil prices and the stronger dollar. However, the poor job report adds to the sense that something more fundamental is at play than winter storms.

Chief U.S. economist at Nomura stated, “I think there is more going on here than just weather,” Alexander said.

One obvious factor slowing the economy is the decline in drilling activity given the low price of oil, he said. The stronger dollar is also hurting the trade sector.

“These are part of the reason it makes June hard,” he said.

Whatever the cause of the sluggish first quarter, the Fed is going to want some confirmation that this weak growth is an aberration before tightening, Alexander said.

President Obama speaking on the economy, “Our economy has been growing, we’ve got momentum,” Obama said Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky, the first leg of a trip that will take him to Salt Lake City, Utah, on Friday where he will comment on a March jobs report that showed a gain of just 126,000, well below expectations and the weakest number since December of 2013. “But that momentum can stall,” Obama added. “Because the economies in Europe are weak, the economies in Asia are weak, the dollar is becoming stronger because a lot of people want to park their money here, they think it’s safer, but that makes our exports more expensive. So we’ve got to stay hungry.”

Politico reported that the disappointing March jobs report, which also showed the size of the labor force shrinking by 96,000, suggests that Obama’s fears of a stalling economy may already be coming true. And that’s an issue not just for a lame duck incumbent looking to juice weak approval numbers. It could also seriously complicate matters for Obama’s would-be successor, Hillary Clinton, who could wind up squaring off against a GOP opponent promising — fairly or not —an end to the desultory growth rates of the Obama years.

Republican pounced on this report with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus stating, “This report clearly shows that President Obama’s efforts have not done enough to grow our economy and create jobs fast enough,”

The question is now that the economy is slowing will the Federal Reserve begin to ease back on the throttle and begin to raise interest rates sometime in June? This is what the market is waiting to see.

The New York Times reported that speaking at a conference in San Francisco last week, Janet L. Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, was relatively cautious in her assessment of the economy compared with some of her more hawkish colleagues at the Fed. She said that the Fed would move slowly to raise rates even after it began the process of lifting short-term borrowing costs from the near-zero level they have been at since 2008.

“For Yellen, this is an affirmation of what she did,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. “She said she wants to see more improvement in the labor market.”

By the summer we should see the real strength of the economy, but there are headwinds ahead with higher health care costs for families and like always rising fuel prices just in time for the peak summer driving season.