The Employment Situation: March 1994 — 1994-04-01

Nonfarm payroll employment rebounded sharply in March from weather- related weakness in the prior 2 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The unemployment rate, at 6.5 percent, was the same as it had been in February. The March increase of 456,000 in the number of payroll jobs brought growth in the first quarter back in line with that for the fourth quarter of last year. The average workweek also expanded markedly following February's weather-induced declines. The unemployment rate was 6.5 percent in March, the same as in February, and the number of unemployed persons remained at 8.5 million. Unemployment rates for most worker groups were little changed from February to March. Changes over the month in several measures partially reversed unusually large movements in February.