WASHINGTON— U.S. employers added just 98,000 jobs last month, the fewest in a year, though the unemployment rate fell to a nearly seven-year low of 4.5 percent.

The rate fell because nearly a half-million more Americans reported finding jobs, the Labor Department said Friday.

Economists had expected a falloff in hiring in March after job gains in January and February had averaged a robust 237,000. Those increases had been fueled partly by strong hiring in construction, which occurred because of unseasonably warm winter weather.

Construction companies added 6,000 jobs in March, the fewest in seven months. Retailers, suffering from the shift to online shopping, slashed 30,000 jobs. Education and health care services added the fewest jobs in 15 months.

The economy appears to have slowed in the first three months of the year, though most economists expect a rebound in the current April-June quarter.

Consumer and business sentiment has soared since the November presidential election, but the increased optimism hasn’t yet accelerated growth.