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In the third employment report of Donald J. Trump's young presidency, the economy gained just 98,000 jobs in March, lower than the 180,000 expected. It's also down markedly from gains of 219,000 in February and 216,000 in January.

Bouts of bad weather on the East Coast and Midwest poured some cold water on March's numbers, economists say. Likewise, the employment boost during the usually tepid winter months had been driven by unseasonably warmer weather, which led to growth in outdoor industries like construction.

Retail was the biggest losing sector, shedding 30,000 jobs in March.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent from 4.7, according to Friday's release from the Bureau of Labor.