Jobs Stronger Than Expected

Job Growth for March came in better than expected. In addition, January and February job numbers were revised up again.......


Jobless Rate Dips to 4.4 PercentFriday
Unemployment Rate Drops in March As Companies Add 180,000 Jobs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Employers ramped up hiring in March, driving the unemployment rate down to 4.4 percent, matching a five-year low. It was a surprisingly strong performance in an economy that has otherwise shown signs of sluggishness recently.

The new snapshot, released by the Labor Department on Friday, also showed that employers boosted their payrolls by a strong 180,000 in March, the most since December. Workers' also saw their paychecks get bigger. The fresh figures suggested that companies are not feeling a need to dramatically clamp down on hiring in the face of the slower overall economic activity and the deep housing slump.......

.......The report was stronger than economists were expecting. They were calling for the economy to add around 135,000 new jobs in March, and for the unemployment rate to actually edge up to 4.6 percent.

The 4.4 percent unemployment rate, which dropped down a notch from 4.5 percent in February, matched the rate in October, which was the lowest in five years.

Friday April 6, 10:02 am ET By Jeannine Aversa
Associated Press Economics Writer


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