U.S. Job-Creation Stats – Including Retail – Jumped in March

Total nonfarm payroll employment in the U.S. grew by a stronger-than-expected 178,000 in March, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.35%, the latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Retail’s gain of 9700 jobs was the fifth-largest gain by a given sector, trailing education and health care (+91,000 jobs) leisure and hospitality (+44,000) construction (+26,000) and manufacturing (+15,000).

Sectors losing jobs included the federal government (-18,000); insurance (-16,000) and financial services (-15,000).

The overall number for March was a big turnaround from  the previous month, which saw overall jobs drop by 133,000. But in its coverage of the March job-creation numbers, The New York Times noted the report “is a snapshot of the economy before the impact of the war in the Middle East began to be felt in earnest. The resulting spike in gasoline, diesel and fertilizer prices is expected to force consumers to cut back spending on other priorities that employ people, like going out to eat and taking long road trips.”