Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 196,000 in March, well ahead of the 176,000 consensus estimate among analysts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%, and the number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 6.2 million.
Employment in construction showed little change in March (+16,000) but has increased by 246,000 over the past 12 months.
The report was good news for the housing sector.
Joel Kan, AVP of Economic and Industry Forecasting for the Mortgage Bankers Association, said, “The 196,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy in March reversed the slowdown in February, but more importantly, it showed that job creation overall remains robust. The unemployment rate stayed at 3.8% and is still well below historical averages. The 3.2% growth in hourly earnings is good news for the housing market, as wage growth continues to more closely align with home-price gains.
Kan continued, "Additionally, we saw a bounce back in construction employment last month, with a decent gain of 16,000 jobs. These developments, along with lower mortgage rates and easing price growth, lay the foundation for steady housing demand as we move further into the spring homebuying season.”
“The job market is quite remarkable as more job creations and wage gains are adding to the pent-up demand for housing," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. "The many new job holders are seeking the starter home, but unfortunately, there is a grossly inadequate supply of moderately priced homes. While most industries are experiencing a new high in total jobs in their sectors, the construction industry is still not back to its prior peak. The latest 16,000 net new construction jobs in March and 246,000 over the past 12 months are a welcoming trend. However, given the housing shortage, more workers are needed for home building. There are around 300,000 job openings in the construction sector that are yet to be filled. Only from increased home construction will the housing market advance in a healthy way of home prices not rising faster than wage gains.”
The labor force participation rate, at 63.0%, was little changed over the month and has shown little movement on net over the past 12 months. The employment-population ratio was 60.6% in March and has been either 60.6% or 60.7% since October 2018.
Employment growth averaged 180,000 per month in the first quarter of 2019, compared with 223,000 per month in 2018.
Health care added 49,000 jobs in March and 398,000 over the past 12 months. Over the month, employment increased in ambulatory health care services (+27,000), hospitals (+14,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000).
Employment in professional and technical services grew by 34,000 in March and 311,000 over the past 12 months. In March, computer systems design and related services added 12,000 jobs. Employment continued to trend up in architectural and engineering services (+6,000) and in management and technical consulting services (+6,000).
In March, employment in food services and drinking places continued its upward trend (+27,000), in line with its average monthly gain over the prior 12 months.
Manufacturing employment changed little for the second month in a row (-6,000 in March, following +1,000 in February). In the 12 months prior to February, manufacturing had added an average of 22,000 jobs per month. Within the industry, employment in motor vehicles and parts declined in March (-6,000).
Employment in other major industries, including mining, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change over the month.
In March, average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls rose by 4 cents to $27.70, following a 10-cent gain in February. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.2%. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 6 cents to $23.24 in March.
The change in total non-farm payroll employment for January was revised up from +311,000 to +312,000, and the change for February was revised up from +20,000 to +33,000. With these revisions, employment gains in January and February combined were 14,000 more than previously reported.
