This morning’s employment situation report showed that the economy added 215,000 jobs in March, which is in line with expectations and in line with the trends of the past few months. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly, while the labor force participation rate continued to show signs of improvement—an indication that workers are feeling optimistic and are beginning to come off the bench and take some practice swings.

Wage growth, meanwhile, was 2.3 percent year-over-year. Wage growth continues to be below target levels, a sign that there continues to be substantial slack in the labor market. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated earlier this week that the Fed would be “patient” when it comes to raising rates. Today’s data confirm that said patience is warranted.