Employment growth slows with 236,000 jobs in March
by Zachary Halaschak, Economics Reporter |
April 07, 2023 08:32 AM
The economy added 236,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, a slight slowdown from the strong gains of recent months that indicates the labor market might be slowing in response to the Federal Reserve's rate hikes but remains robust.
The unemployment rate edged down a tenth of a percentage point to 3.5%, a very low figure historically.
March's slowdown in job creation and wage growth could cause the central bank to gauge that the labor market no longer threatens to drive up inflation and could sway it toward a more dovish monetary stance.
"The March employment report shows some steam is coming out of the job market, but it isn’t falling out of bed," said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate's senior economic analyst. "Growth in payrolls was largely as expected, and substantially below the pace of the previous two months."
The Fed is hoping to bring down inflation without tipping the country into inflation — thought to be a difficult task. But Friday's report is a sign of hope to the extent that it shows that employment growth is at a sustainable pace without unemployment rising.
In fact, unemployment is near the lowest levels since the 1960s. Unemployment for black workers fell to 5%, the lowest rate on record.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/employment-growth-slows-march-unemployment
