U.S. Nonfarm Payroll Employment Rises in March

U.S. Nonfarm payroll employment grew by 162,000 jobs in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The national unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent.

Many industries posted job gains. Notables include increases in temporary help services (40,000); health care (27,000); manufacturing (17,000); and mining (8,000). Government employment also rose, largely due to limited-term Census 2010 positions.


Despite these employment gains, the unemployment rates for men, women, teens, and minorities showed little or no change in March. The number of persistently unemployed persons, those looking for work for 27 weeks or more, rose by 414,000 in March, to a total of 6.5 million.

For full details, see the BLS press release. (www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf)