Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 110,000 in March, and the
unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Several industries added jobs
over the month, including construction, mining, health care, and wholesale trade.
Total employment and the employment-population ratio were about unchanged in March at 140.5 million and 62.4 percent, respectively. The civilian labor
force participation rate was 65.8 percent for the third straight month.
Construction employment rose by 26,000 in March, following a gain of similar magnitude in February.
Manufacturing employment was little changed (-8,000) in March
Health care added 16,000 jobs in March
Employment in professional and business services continued to trend upward in March (27,000)
Wholesale trade employment was up by 15,000 over the month, with gains in both its durable and nondurable components.
For the last 6-9 months, there has been a huge disconnect between the reported numbers and the forecast numbers. I have not seen an explanation of why this is occurring.
Although companies are cash rich right now, they are instead investing in new equipment and productivity enhancing products at the expense of new employees. I have not seen any information as to why this is occurring. But, I have a feeling -- completely unsunbstantiated by any fact -- that health costs are part of the reason.
The market is actually happy with this number as of this writing. Fewer jobs = less inflation.
Also, there will be some spin regarding the increase in the household survey of 357,000. From the same news release comes an explanation of both numbers.
Household survey. The sample is selected to reflect the entire
civilian noninstitutional population. Based on responses to a series of questions on work and job search activities, each person 16 years and over
in a sample household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force.
People are classified as employed if they did any work at all as paid employees during the reference week; worked in their own business, pro- fession, or on their own farm; or worked without pay at least 15 hours in a family business or farm. People are also counted as employed if they were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor-management disputes, or personal reasons
Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and local government entities. Employees on nonfarm payrolls are those who received pay for any part of the reference pay period, including persons on paid leave. Persons are counted in each job they hold. Hours and earnings data are for private businesses and relate only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and nonsupervisory workers in the service-providing sector. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System.
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