March Employment Report: 192,000 Jobs, 6.7% Unemployment Rate

by Bill McBride

From the BLS:

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 192,000 in March, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
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The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised from +129,000 to +144,000, and the change for February was revised from +175,000 to +197,000. With these revisions, employment gains in January and February were 37,000 higher than previously reported.

The headline number was below expectations of 206,000 payroll jobs added.

The first graph shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms, compared to previous post WWII recessions. The dotted line is ex-Census hiring.



This shows the depth of the recent employment recession - worse than any other post-war recession - and the relatively slow recovery due to the lingering effects of the housing bust and financial crisis.

Employment is 0.3% below the pre-recession peak (437 thousand fewer total jobs). Private employment is now above the pre-recession peak by 110 thousand and at a new all time high.

- more -

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/04/march-employment-report-192000-jobs-67.html

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All told, over the last 12 months, the U.S. economy has added over 2.24 million jobs overall and 2.26 million in the private sector. What’s more, March was the 49th consecutive month in which we’ve seen private-sector job growth.

- more -

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/job-market-continues-show-signs-life