Washington ? If you were looking for a job as a teacher last month, you were in luck. Same goes for health workers, retail clerks and building contractors.

All told, the economy added 180,000 jobs, dropping unemployment to a 4.4 percent rate that matched a five-year low.

The mostly positive snapshot of the nation’s employment climate, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed that companies ramped up hiring and paid workers more.

That’s good news for employees and jobseekers, and bodes well for the national economy, too, which is suffering a sluggish spell and a painful housing slump.

“For most people, the job market is still hitting on a lot of cylinders, especially for people who are willing to upgrade their skills. It is not leaving a large number of people stranded,” said John Challenger, chief of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an employment research firm. “But there are pockets where people are having a difficult time.”

Those include people looking for work at factories, where jobs in March were cut for the ninth straight month. Makers of autos, furniture, clothing and textiles all eliminated jobs last month. Another soft spot: residential construction, a casualty of the housing slump.

But there were many more job winners than losers. Construction jobs led the way, especially for contractors and for commercial building. Retailers, health care providers, educational services and leisure and hospitality companies were among those boosting their payrolls.

“Businesses have a very good appetite for hiring workers. The job market is sturdy,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “It is a good time to be looking for a job, particularly if you have skills and education.”

Against that backdrop, unemployment fell from 4.5 percent in February to 4.4 percent in March. That matched the rate in October – the lowest in five years.

Workers’ paychecks grew last month.

Average hourly earnings climbed to $17.22, up 4 percent from $16.55 a year earlier.

In a separate report, the Fed said consumers borrowed less freely in February; they boosted their use of credit at a 1.5 percent pace, the slowest in four months.

The moderation reflected less demand for auto, educational and other loans.