Job Growth Slows; Jobless Rate Falls
Employers added only 88,000 jobs in March, according to the federal government, after several months of much stronger job growth. However, the nation's unemployment rate ticked downward to 7.6 percent.
The always watched monthly job market report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said employment grew in professional and business services and health care, but declined in retail trade.
The drop in the unemployment rate was better than expected, as analysts polled by Yahoo expected the rate to stay the same as it was in February, 7.7 percent, or even tick upward to 7.8 percent.
But the job growth number was far lower than what other reports from private-sector experts were reporting for last month. For example, payroll processor ADP said the economy created 158,000 jobs. Based on published reports, analysts were expecting even higher growth of about 190,000 jobs.
The stock market reacted negatively at the opening bell this morning. The Nasdaq, as well as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index, all fell more than 1 percent in the opening minutes of trading.
WBJ Web Partners
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