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Small employment gains in March

4/6/2018
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 103,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% for the sixth consecutive month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

This compares to job growth of 326,000 in February, revised from an original estimate of a 313,000 increase.

Construction employment fell by 15,000 in March after a gain of 65,000 in February.

Retail trade employment was down 4,000 after increasing by 47,000 in February. Employment declined by 13,000 in general merchandise stores, offsetting a gain of the same size in February.

Manufacturing employment rose by 22,000, with all of the gain in the durable goods component. Employment in fabricated metal products increased over the month by 9,000. Over the year, manufacturing has added 232,000 jobs; the durable goods component accounted for about three-fourths of the jobs added.

Employment changed little over the month in other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.5 hours in March. In manufacturing, the workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 40.9 hours; overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 3.6 hours.

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to $26.82 in March. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 71 cents, or 2.7%. Average hourly earnings for private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 4 cents to $22.42 in March.
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