US economy adds only 88,000 jobs in March
The US economy added just 88,000 jobs in March, the lowest increase
for nine months, official data showed.
The number was much weaker than the rise of approximately 200,000
predicted by economists, and will inevitably raise new concerns about
the strength of the US economic recovery.
At the same time, the US jobless rate declined to 7.6% from 7.7% in
February. A drop in retail employment was a major factor behind the
disappointing rise in overall job creation.
The data from the Labour Department showed that the retail sector
lost 24,000 jobs in March. At the same time, 12,000 jobs were lost in
the US Postal Service, which has been making staff redundant to cut
losses.
Other sectors of the economy performed much better, with 51,000 extra
professional and business services jobs being created, and 23,000 new
healthcare positions.
March's rise in job creation was half the level of the past six
months, when there was an average monthly decline of 196,000.
Some economists expect Federal spending cuts, which came into effect
on March 1, to have had an impact on confidence among companies and the
numbers of people hired. The total number of unemployed in the US in
March was 11.7 million.
For adult men, the unemployment rate was 6.9%, and 7% for women. For
teenagers of both sexes, the rate was 24.2%, almost one in four people.
"The US economy just hit a major speed bump," said trading director
at MB Capital in London, Marcus Bullus.
An economist at Capital Economics, Paul Dales was equally
disappointed. "When you get to numbers below 100,000, you have to start
worrying," he said.
The US economy needs to add about 90,000 jobs each month just to keep
up with population growth. The disappointing data comes after other
reports indicated that the US economic recovery is continuing.
In recent weeks, figures have shown that US factory orders are rising
strongly, and the housing market is still gaining in strength.
BBC |