Net Job Creation by Industry through March 2016

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday in their analysis of non-farm employment that 215,000 jobs were added in March, down from 245,000 in February but up from 168,000 in January. January and February were revised down by a total of 1,000. An explanation of the BLS report is included at the end of this piece.

The three month moving (3MMA) of gains through March was 209,000. The unemployment rate, U3, calculated from a different survey, rose in March to 5.0 percent from 4.9 percent in February. Monthly job gains have averaged 225,000 per month in the fifteen months since and including January 2015 (Figure 1).