Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2017-04-07

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 4.5 percent in March. Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 98,000, following gains in January (+216,000) and February (+219,000). In March, job gains occurred in professional and business services and in mining, while retail employment declined. Employment in professional and business services increased by 56,000 in March and has grown by 639,000 over the year. Within the industry, services to buildings and dwellings (+17,000) and architectural and engineering services (+7,000) added jobs over the month. Mining added 11,000 jobs in March, mostly in support activities for mining. Employment in the industry has expanded by 35,000 since a recent low point in October 2016. In March, health care employment continued to trend up (+14,000).