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Posted by Kirk Lindstrom Apr 6, 2007 |
Today's jobs report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that labor market remains tight as 180,000 new jobs were created and the jobless rate fell to 4.4%.
- Discuss this jobs report and how it effects the stock market in Kirk's Market Thoughts
I like to think of it as 95.6% of eligible workers in the US have a job.
Details from report include:
- U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 180,000 in March, well above most everyone's forecast
- The US Unemployment rate fell from 4.5% to 4.4% which matched the October 2006 number which was the lowest in nearly six years!
- economists on average had expected to see 168,000 new jobs for a 4.5% unemployment rate
The "household survey" showed unemployment fell by 141,000 to 6.72 million and employment rose by 335,000 to 146.3 million workers.
- Construction led the job gains with 56,000 new jobs
- Nearly 36,000 jobs were added at general merchandise stores last month
- 29,500 health care jobs were created
- 19,000 additional workers were hired at restaurants and bars
- Manufacturers shed workers for the ninth consecutive month falling by 16,000 but but the average workweek in manufacturing rose to 41.1 hours from 40.9 hours and factory overtime rose six minutes to 4.3 hours.
Discuss & Ask Questions
- Discuss and ask questions about the jobs report and other economic events in our ECRI Data & Forecast discussion forum where Lakshman kindly answers questions about their excellent indexes and how they relate to the economy.
DISCLAIMER: Answers & my words are general in nature, are not meant as specific investment advice, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of anyone but Kirk. Individuals should consult with their own advisors for specific investment advice.