Headline Roundup • April 1st, 2022
US Economy Added 431,000 Jobs in March
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The U.S. economy added another 431,000 jobs in March while the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The number of jobs added was below the 490,000 new jobs predicted by economists, and well below February's jobs gains. Meanwhile, the 3.6% unemployment rate is the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. The labor force participation rate grew to 62.4%, continuing its recovery but still beneath the 63.4% rate seen in February 2020. The U.S. has now recovered over 90% of the roughly 22 million jobs lost at the start of the pandemic.
Average hourly earnings increased 13 cents in March, putting average wage growth increases over the past year at 5.6%. The annual inflation rate remains high at 7.9%, the highest 12-month change since in nearly 40 years.
News sources across the spectrum painted the report as a positive sign of economic growth, while also highlighting how wage growth isn't keeping up with inflation. Some reports from right-rated sources framed ongoing inflation as more of a concern that could counteract other economic gains.
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CNN Business
America's labor market is roaring back, adding another 431,000 jobs in March and bringing the unemployment rate to a new pandemic-era low of 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Even though the job gains were lower than economists had expected, they still rounded up a strong first quarter for the US labor market with an average monthly gain of more than half a million jobs. March was the 15th straight month of robust job gains.
The economy is now just 1.6 million jobs short of where it was in February 2020,...
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chart: Axios Visuals
The post-pandemic job market boom continues. That's the takeaway from the March numbers, out this morning.
Why it matters: After a year of labor shortages and high inflation, Americans are going back to work in massive numbers. And they're getting paid more — though not enough to raise new inflation alarms.
At first glance, the 431,000 jobs added in March look like a deceleration from the job growth totals for January and February — a revised 504,000 and 750,000 jobs added, respectively.
But employers still added more jobs in March than all...
(Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. economy recorded an increase of 431,000 jobs in March as COVID-19 concerns ease and more Americans seek work to combat the surging cost of living.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 431,000 in March while the unemployment rate dipped to 3.6%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted the U.S. economy would add 490,000 jobs.
Recent gains in the labor market have allowed the U.S. economy to recover over 90% of the 22 million jobs lost during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, The New York...
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