Washington, Apr 5 (EFE).– The US unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8 percent in March, a month in which 196,000 new jobs were created, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The US economy remains “steady” at a level close to full employment and the addition of 196,000 new jobs is evidence of a growing economy, surpassing the expectations of analysts who had forecast only 172,000 new hirings.
“Adding upward revisions of 14,000 jobs from the past two months, means that more than 5.1 million jobs have been created since January 2017,” said US Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta in a written statement.
“American workers are increasing their productivity, and paychecks are rising,” he said.
The gain in hiring contrasts with the worrying numbers from February, when only 20,000 new jobs were created and when concerns about a possible economic slowdown were raised.
On the other hand, the average salary rose 4 cents per hour in March, putting the average pay rate close to $27.70.
Hourly earnings have increased by 3.2 percent in the past 12 months, the report shows, a slightly lower increase than last month when a 3.4 percent rise was registered.
However, the labor force participation rate, the proportion of Americans who are employed or looking for a job, fell slightly from 63.2 percent last month to 63 percent in March.
“With healthy job growth, rising wages, and low unemployment, we continue to work to increase labor force participation to fill high levels of open jobs,” Acosta said.
This is the 101st consecutive month in which employment has increased in the United States, the longest such period ever.
The Federal Reserve Board (Fed) announced that it will show “patience” in setting future interest rates throughout the remainder of the year, after the weakness registered in some of the latest economic indicators.
Despite this, President Donald Trump harshly criticized the Fed’s monetary policy, arguing that it is “destructive and unnecessary” and his chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, even suggested that the central bank should cut interest rates by 50 basis points.
In the United States, interest rates are currently set between 2.25 percent and 2.5 percent.