Analysts had expected an average of 65,000 new jobs, according to a Bloomberg compilation.
The increase was also higher than in February, when 133,000 new jobs were created - which in turn was a decline from 160,000 in January.
Unemployment in March fell to 4.3 percent. Expectations were 4.4 percent, the same as in February.
"The bottom line is that March was somewhat encouraging, but it has been a difficult year for the labor market," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNBC.
She believes the rest of the first half of the year will be challenging for job seekers.
