The United States added 303,000 new jobs in March, as reported on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which also detailed that "unemployment rate changed little at 3.8 percent."
The area that grew the most was health, which added 72,000 jobs. The public sector follows closely, with 71,000 additions. That figure easily exceeds the average increase of the last 12 months: 54,000 jobs. While the federal government added 9,000 jobs, local administrations added 49,000.
"Construction added 39,000 jobs in March ... Employment in leisure and hospitality trended up in March (+49,000). ... Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; and professional and business services," the report reads
The government celebrated the increase in both the labor market and salaries, although the results raised new doubts about interest rates and inflation.
Today’s jobs report marks another chapter in America’s comeback.
With the report of 303,000 new jobs in March, we've passed the milestone of 15 million jobs created since I took office.
That’s 15 million more people who have the dignity and respect that comes with a paycheck.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 5, 2024
Downward adjustments
In its report on Friday, the BLS also reported that the "surprisingly strong" increase in jobs in February was actually smaller than initially reported. The figure was adjusted down 5,000 jobs from the 275,000 initially recorded. Something similar happened with the figure from January, which was reduced by 97,000 jobs, remaining at 256,000.
Although data revisions typically raise rather than lower the number of jobs added, the BLS had to lower initial job growth records for all of 2023 by 520,000, according to CNBC. This change led Dan North, senior economist at Allianz Trade Americas, to recommend caution in light of the initial reports, in conversation with CNBC:
So I’ll be looking for the revisions from the prior month to see if they’re going to be knocked down, and most likely they will be. That’s why if you get a big number, take it with a grain of salt.
Unemployment
The unemployment rate for the Hispanic population was 2.5%, the same as the Asian population. The black population, with 6.4%, was the only one of the three that suffered an increase. In contrast, there was "little or no change" in unemployment among the white population, and among adults of both sexes and adolescents.
The number of long-term unemployment (those who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more) did not see a significant change either, standing at 1.2 million, nor did the number of those who have a part-time job but want a full-time job, at 4.3 million. Equally unchanged was the number of people who want a job but cannot search or are not actively searching, remaining at 5.4 million.
