The March jobs report will take center stage this week as a fairly light schedule eases investors into a new month and quarter.

A handful of corporate earnings will dot the schedule, with the economic calendar keeping investors busier than the corporate side as reads on manufacturing activity, job openings, auto sales, and initial jobless claims are all set to feature ahead of Friday's key jobs report.

U.S. markets will be closed on Friday for Good Friday.

The March jobs report is expected to show 238,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month with the unemployment rate set to hold steady at 3.6%, according to data from Trading Economics. In February, the U.S. economy added 311,000 new jobs while the unemployment rate ticked higher as participation increased.

This report would mark a second-straight slowdown from the blowout jobs numbers seen in January, which saw more than 500,000 new jobs created in a number that many economists saw as being aided by fair weather and seasonal adjustments gone awry.

February's solid job growth, however, suggested the labor market remains on solid footing, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell saying in a press conference last month saying the labor market is "extremely tight." Monthly job gains have averaged 343,000 over the last six months.

"[With] job vacancies still very high, labor demand substantially exceeds the supply of available workers," Powell said. "FOMC participants expect supply and demand conditions in the labor market to come into better balance over time, easing upward pressures on wages and prices."

The Fed's forecasts released in mid-March showed officials see unemployment rising to 4.5% by the end of this year.

Investors also continue to look for signs the turmoil in the banking sector is weighing on broader economic activity, though economists don't expect to see marked impacts from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in Friday's jobs data.