Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2011-04-01

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. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the employment and unemployment data we released this morning. In March, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 216,000, and private-sector employment rose by 230,000. The unemployment rate was little changed at 8.8 percent; the rate has declined by one percentage point since November 2010. Since a recent low point in February 2010, nonfarm payroll employment has risen by 1.5 million. Private-sector employment rose by 1.8 million over the same period, an average of 138,000 per month. In March, job growth occurred in professional and business services, health care, leisure and hospitality, and mining. Manufacturing employment continued to trend up over the month. Professional and business services employment rose by 78,000 in March.