Nonfarm Payrolls Come In Hot
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed the labor market added 303,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in March of 2024, nearly 50% higher than the 214,000 expected by economists. The jobs came mostly from the health care (72,000), government (71,000), leisure and hospitality (49,000), and construction (39,000) sectors.
Unemployment Declines Slightly
The unemployment rate moved slightly lower to 3.8%, while the labor force participation rate moved higher to 62.7%. Wages rose 0.3% for the month and 4.1% from a year ago. The unemployment rate has been in a narrow range of 3.7-3.9% since August of 2023.
JOLTS Stays Unchanged
The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) report, which tells us how many job openings there are each month, as well as how many workers were hired or quit, indicates little change in the labor market for February. The report found a mild improvement in hiring and a slight increase in layoffs as job openings and quits held steady.
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