The Conference Board employment trends index fell to a reading of 111.2 in March from its revised reading of 111.4 in February. The March reading is up 3.7 percent from the same month a year ago.

“Despite the decline in March, the employment trends index is still signaling moderate job growth in the coming months,” said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board. “The current trend suggests faster growth than the disappointing increase of 88,000 jobs in March. At the same time, 200,000 new jobs per month in the current economic environment is not in the cards either.”