If the 11 interest rate increases the Federal Reserve has made since March 2022 were supposed to slow the job market in a continuing fight against a stubborn inflation rate, someone forgot to tell U.S. employers.
The U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs in March, according to statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The country’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.8%, down from the 3.9% it posted in February.
Annual wage gains slowed to 4.1% from 4.3%, according to a report from CNN.
“Today’s jobs report raises the possibility that rather than slowing down, job growth might be holding steady,” Nick Bunker, Indeed Hiring Lab’s economic research director for North America, said in a statement, according to the network. “But this strength is coming from sources that are more sustainable than those that fueled the burst of gains in 2021. March’s jobs numbers were uniformly strong, and upticks in the employment-population ratio and labor force participation in particular suggest that demand for workers is not outstripping supply, like it was a few years back.”
The total far surpassed economists’ forecasts for 205,000 jobs gained, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
Spurring last month’s job growth were gains such as health care (up 72,300 jobs), government (a 71,000-job increase); leisure and hospitality (up some 49,000 jobs); and construction (which saw a 39,000-job gain).
The economy has added jobs for 39 consecutive months, the fifth-longest period of job expansion on record, according to BLS data. The unemployment rate has been below 4% for 26 months in a row, the longest streak since the late 1960s.
President Joe Biden released a statement touting March’s jobs report.
“Today’s report marks a milestone in America’s comeback,” Biden said in the statement, released by the White House. “Three years ago, I inherited an economy on the brink. With today’s report of 303,000 new jobs in March, we have 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.”
