March Employment Numbers

The Department of Labor reports that for the second month in a row, employers have reduced their payroll by 152,000 people. The job losses in March topped 80,000 jobs, which was the biggest monthly decline in five years. The unemployment rate is now at 5.1%, still historically low.

Monthly Unemployment

Monthly Payrolls

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The employment numbers confirm that the economy is in a retraction phase and probably in a recession. Also the Federal Reserve dropping rates at the end of this month is almost a guarantee.

Quotes from WSJ article:

Mr. Bernanke on Wednesday warned for the first time that "a recession is possible." Yet last month's payroll decline won't come as too much of a surprise, as Mr. Bernanke also told lawmakers Wednesday that "much necessary economic and financial adjustment has already taken place, and monetary and fiscal policies are in train that should support a return to growth in the second half of this year and next year."

"Still, the jobs slump may heighten fears at the Fed of a negative "feedback loop" in which financial market strains lead to a weaker economy, which in turn leads to more financial turbulence."

The Labor Department said hiring last month in goods producing industries fell 93,000. Within this group, manufacturing firms cut 48,000 jobs. the sector has lost jobs every month for almost two years. Automobile employment fell 24,000, the Labor Department said. "This decline largely reflected the impact of a strike at an automotive parts maker," Bureau of Labor statistics Commissioner Keith Hall said in a prepared statement.

• Construction employment was down by 51,000, the ninth-straight drop. Residential building bore the brunt of the decline, but nonresidential construction jobs fell as well, suggesting that the housing slump is broadening.

• Service-sector employment rose just 13,000 in March and only managed 12,000 new jobs for the entire first quarter. Business and professional services companies shed 35,000 jobs, and the financial sector lost jobs for the eighth-straight month, reflecting recent credit and mortgage-market turmoil.

• Temporary employment, which economists consider a leading indicator for future job trends, fell by over 21,000 last month.

• Education and health services employment, in contrast, advanced by 42,000. Leisure and hospitality rose 18,000, while retail trade lost 12,400 payrolls.

• The government added 18,000 jobs.

Source:
'U.S. economy sheds 80,000 jobs in March', by Joanne Morrison, Reuters
'Economy Shed Jobs in March, Fueling Fears of Recession', by Brian Blackstone, WSJ {$$$}