WASHINGTON: US employers notched another solid month of hiring in March by adding 215,000 jobs, driven by large gains in the construction, retail and health care industries. Despite the jump, the Labour Department said on Friday that the unemployment rate ticked up to five per cent from 4.9 per cent. But that increase includes some good news: more Americans came off the sidelines to look for work, though not all found jobs. The figures suggest that employers remain confident enough in their business prospects to add staff, even as overall growth has slowed since last winter. Many analysts estimate that the economy grew at a one per cent annual rate or below in the first quarter. Continuing job gains indicate that employers may see the slowdown as temporary.