BLS: Economy Adds 98,000 Jobs in March, Unemployment Drops to 4.5 Percent

The latest jobs numbers are out from the federal government. What do they mean for job seekers and employers? Here’s a quick take from Glassdoor’s Chief Economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain: This morning’s jobs report showed a weaker than expected gain of 98,000 new jobs added in March, likely due to severe winter storms that pummeled the Northeast last month. However, the nation’s unemployment rate fell dramatically to 4.5 percent, despite a growing labor force in March. That’s much lower than most economists expected, and is a further sign that the U.S. economy continues to run red hot despite being 93 months into the current economic expansion. Average hourly wages were up 2.7 percent from one year ago according to BLS data, continuing a trend toward faster growth in American paychecks. In Glassdoor’s Local Pay Reports, our data show a 3.0 percent year-over-year growth in pay for full time U.S. workers -- tied with January for the fastest pay gains we’ve recorded in three years. Even the nation’s long-declining labor force participation rate held steady in March at 63.0 percent, a sign of continued optimism by workers who are remaining in or rejoining the labor market in light of today’s strong pay gains and near-record job openings. The industries adding the most jobs in March include professional and business services (+56,000 jobs), health care (+16,700 jobs), mining and logging (+11,000 jobs), and manufacturing (+11,000 jobs). By contrast, today’s report showed dramatic job losses in retail (-29,700 jobs), information (which includes most media) (-3,000 jobs), utilities (-700 jobs), and wholesale trade (-400 jobs). This month’s report marks 78 consecutive months of positive jobs gains for the economy, and a whopping 93 months for the current economic expansion. Despite this marathon streak of slow and steady growth, there are few signs of slowing in today’s red-hot labor market -- either in Glassdoor or BLS data. To speak with Dr. Andrew Chamberlain about today’s jobs report or to discuss labor market trends, contact pr at Glassdoor dot com. For the latest economics and labor market updates, follow @adchamberlain on Twitter and subscribe to Glassdoor Economic Research.