U.S. Employment Nudged Upwards and Unemployment Edged Down in March

This morning the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published its monthly employment situation news release for March. Nonfarm payroll employment edged up over the month, with a gain of 88,000 jobs. Meanwhile the unemployment rate moved ever-so-slightly down to 7.6 percent.

In March, employment rose in professional and business services (+51,000) and health care (+23,000). Retail trade lost 24,000 jobs over the month. Employment changed little in several sectors, including manufacturing and financial activities. The addition of 88,000 jobs in March fell below the average monthly gain of 169,000 seen over the prior 12 months.

Here are a few labor force highlights from this month's release:

• The civilian labor force declined by 496,000 in March. Departures from the labor force include retirements, in addition to those who stop looking for work.

• There were 803,000 discouraged workers nationwide in March.

• The number of long-term unemployed in the U.S. totaled 4.6 million.

You can find more details in the full release from the BLS.