Payroll employment rises 120,000 in March; unemployment rate changes little (8.2%)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. "... we'll have to wait until Monday for a reaction."

We're about to find out.

Stocks open lower in first reaction to hiring slump

By PALLAVI GOGOI, AP Business Writer – 4 minutes ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening sharply lower as Wall Street gets its first chance to react to a slowdown in hiring in the United States in March.

At the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average is down 143 points at 12,917. The Standard & Poor's 500 is off 17 at 1,381, while the Nasdaq lost 42 points to 3,038.

The U.S. added just 120,000 jobs in March, about half the pace from December through February. That figure interrupted the strongest job growth since the Great Recession.

The government released its jobs report Friday, but the stock market was closed. The weak jobs number came out just as investors fretted that the Federal Reserve does not appear inclined to take further steps to stimulate the economy.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.