The U.S. government releases its broad accounting of the March job market on Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the Labor Department to report that employers added a seasonally adjusted 175,000 jobs during the month, while the unemployment rate held at 3.8%. Here are five things to watch in the report.

Speed Bump or Slowdown?

The March report will show whether employers have significantly downshifted hiring plans or whether February was just a sputter during a long stretch of job gains. Hiring slowed...