
The March jobs report out Friday morning fell short of expectations, but that might not be such a bad thing. CNBC reports:
Nonfarm payrolls rose 103,000 in March while the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, falling well short of Wall Street expectations during a month where weather caused havoc on the jobs market, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday.
Economists had been expecting a payrolls gain of 193,000 and the unemployment rate to decline one-tenth of a point to 4 percent. The monthly reading was a huge slip from the 326,000 reported in February. ...
... "If one were to only focus on this single month, the March employment report is on the disappointing side," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com. "Broader context is appropriate, however. The job market is widely regarded to be close to full employment. So, hiring gains should be slowing at this point in the expansion."
Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Assocation of Realtors, took a similar view. "The March jobs report was a bit soft, and first quarter GDP growth rate also looks to be weak. Heavy snow in parts of the country, and the uncertainty related to a potential trade war, may be (as of now) hindering companies from hiring. Although fewer people worked in construction in March because of the unusually cold wintry weather, job openings in the construction industry do remain at a historic high. If home builders can readily fill those jobs, then home construction significantly ramps up, and thereby brings more housing inventory to the market. Looking ahead, 3% GDP growth does look easily possible in upcoming quarters, with more construction jobs leading to more job creations in other segments of the economy."
US economy adds 103,000 jobs in March from CNBC.
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