The U.S. Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 178,000 jobs in March. That figure was well above the expectations of economists polled by LSEG, who predicted a gain of 60,000 jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 4.3%, which was slightly lower than the 4.4% projected by LSEG economists.
Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 178,000 during the month, a reversal from the 133,000 decline in February and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 59,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. February’s number was revised down by 41,000 while January was revised up by 34,000 to 160,000, putting the three-month average around 68,000.
Construction saw an increase of 26,000, while transportation and warehousing posted a gain of 21,000.
The U.S. stock market was closed in observance of the Good Friday holiday.
Eric Revell for FOXBusiness:
Private payrolls grew by 186,000 jobs in March when economists predicted a gain of 70,000 jobs.
Government payrolls contracted by 8,000 jobs in March. Job losses by the federal government (-18,000) and state governments (-4,000) were partially offset by local governments adding jobs (+14,000).
The manufacturing sector added 15,000 jobs in March, beating LSEG economists’ expectations that the sector would shed 5,000 jobs for the month.
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