The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced on Friday, April 5 that the national unemployment rate edged down to 7.6 percent in March, down from 7.7 percent in February. However, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by just 88,000 jobs in March, well below economists’ expectations and the average employment growth over the previous year of +169,000 jobs per month. Job gains were made last month in professional and business services, health care and construction, while jobs were lost in retail trade. Analysts attribute the slow job growth last month in part to the impact of the payroll tax increase that took effect at the beginning of this calendar year. The effects of the March 1, 2013 sequester on employment have been interpreted as fairly minimal so far, but are expected to be observed more so in the coming months.

95,000 jobs were gained in the private sector, while public sector employment declined by 7,000 jobs. The federal government shed 14,000 jobs, nearly 12,000 of those from the U.S. Postal Service, while local governments lost 2,000 jobs. State governments actually gained 9,000 jobs in March, which includes 8,400 jobs in education. Also, total nonfarm payroll enrollment growth was revised upward for both January (from +119,000 to +148,000) and February (from +236,000 to +268,000). The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) fell slightly to 4.6 million and account for nearly 40 percent of the total unemployed. The number of individuals employed part-time for economic reasons fell slightly by 350,000 to 7.6 million. 

Link(s): News Release