Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief Friday as 196,000 jobs were added to the economy in March.

Data released by the Labor Department Friday blew past estimates for 180,000 new jobs and helped to shake off fears of an economic slowdown spurred by February’s report, which showed a paltry 20,000 jobs were added before being revised upward to 33,000 on Friday.

Wall Street initially cheered the jobs report with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 103 points soon after markets opened, before ending the day up 40 points to 26,424.99.

The S&P 500 rose 13 points, to 2,892.74, and the Nasdaq gained 46 points, to 7,938.69.

“The 20K jobs report last month was just a pothole in the economic road to prosperity. It meant nothing,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, said in a note Friday.

“The great American jobs machine keeps hiring new workers which should ensure the economy reaches the 10-year mile marker for growth in June,” Rupkey wrote.

Unemployment stands at 3.8 percent — unchanged from last month and near a 50-year low. Wages ticked up 4 cents an hour over the last month, and are up 3.2 percent from last year.

Labor Department data have been closely watched in recent months as a clue into the Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking plans.

The Fed raised interest rates four times last year in an effort to keep inflation in check — but earned the scorn of President Trump in the process as the hikes spurred volatility in equity markets.

In its two policy meetings this year, the Fed has signaled that it plans to keep rates flat, which analysts say makes sense.

With wages ticking upward only slightly, the Fed has “plenty of leeway to continue to take a wait-and-see approach on interest rates,” John Lynch, chief investment strategist for LPL Financial, wrote in a note Friday.

Trump on Friday argued that the Fed should begin cutting rates and reinstate its bond-buying program — known as quantitative easing — to stimulate the economy.

“I think they should drop rates, and they should get rid of quantitative tightening. You would see a rocket ship,” Trump said.