Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2007-04-06

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. Nonfarm payroll employment grew by 180,000 to 137.6 million in March. The unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent, was essentially unchanged. Construction employment rose sharply over the month; retail trade and health care also added jobs. Average hourly earnings increased by 6 cents, or 0.3 percent. Construction employment was up by 56,000 in March, following a decline of similar magnitude in February, when unusually adverse weather conditions contributed to the drop in employment. March job gains were concentrated among nonresidential specialty trade contractors, where an increase of 34,000 more than offset a decline in February. Residential building employment was essentially unchanged over the month and has been trending down since last fall.