The Employment Situation: March 2000 — 2000-04-07

Payroll employment rose in March and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment grew by 416,000 over the month. This included the addition of an estimated 117,000 temporary census workers. Also, it is likely that some of the March gain in payroll employment resulted from the fact that there were 5 weeks between the February and March survey reference periods instead of the usual 4 weeks. Average hourly earnings increased by 5 cents over the month and 3.7 percent over the year. The number of unemployed persons, 5.7 million, was essentially unchanged in March, and the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent. The jobless rate has been below 4.2 percent for 6 consecutive months.