US Adds 216,000 Jobs in March

The Non-Farm Payroll showed an increase of 216,000 jobs in March and was even more optimistic than Wednesday’s ADP report of a 201,000 increase. The official unemployment rate fell by one tenth to a two-year low of 8.8 percent.

The private sector accounted for all the new jobs in March, adding 230,000 positions after February’s 240,000 increase. Government employment fell 14,000, declining for a fifth straight month as local governments let go 15,000 workers.

“Employment gains have been modest in recent months, so in that sense I think businesses that were initially very wary of taking on permanent full-time employees are feeling more confident now than was case some months ago,” said Richard DeKaser, an economist at Parthenon Group in Boston. “As a result they are more willing to make those kinds of long-term commitments.”

Source: Reuters

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.