Job Numbers Sag In March

The much-anticipated monthly employment numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor showed a drop of in the rate of job growth in March.

By Michael MarksApril 7, 2017 7:25 am

Early last month, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer touted the labor department’s February jobs report, which estimated that 235,000 new jobs were added during that month. But Spicer also acknowledged that job numbers fluctuate each month, so the employment outlook might not remain so rosy.

It didn’t take long for that prediction to come true. The labor department announced Friday that about 98,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in March – way down from February, and from March of 2016.

Michelle Jamrisko, a U.S. economy reporter for Bloomberg, says she has several theories about the sudden drop in jobs. Reasons aside, Jamrisko says those looking jobs shouldn’t be too concerned.

“I think [job-seeker]  should be feeling pretty good, at least not any worse than yesterday,” Jamrisko says. “Businesses still need people, they’re still looking and complaining that there’s not enough unemployed out there to pick from or available workers.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– How weather during the first few months of the year affected the job market

– Whether some of these findings be explained by a discouraged workforce

– Whether or not the trend will continue