The US economy added more jobs than expected in March, while the unemployment rate saw a slight increase—offering mixed signals about the health of the labor market in the world’s largest economy.
According to data released today, April 4, by the Department of Labor, the world’s largest economy added 228,000 jobs, following an upwardly revised rise of 117,000 in February, down from the initial estimate of 151,000.
This compares to Dow Jones estimates of 140,000 new jobs. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%.
|
Monthly US Job Data |
||||
|
Forecasts |
Previous |
Current |
Change |
|
|
Number of Jobs (‘000) |
140 |
117 |
228 |
+111 |
|
Unemployment Rate (%) |
4.1 |
4.1 |
4.2 |
+0.1 |
|
Average Wage Per Hour ($) |
— |
35.1 |
36.0 |
+0.9 |