The job figures were somewhat stronger than expected in March. It is the 11th month in a row that the figures have exceeded expectations. Unemployment fell at the same time from 3.6 to 3.5 per cent.
In March, 236,000 new jobs were created outside of agriculture in the United States, according to figures from the US Department of Labor.
In advance, Bloomberg’s estimates showed that 230,000 new jobs were expected in March.
In the last ten months, job growth has been stronger than expected. Americans are still waiting for signs that sharp interest rate hikes and inflation will bite the job figures.
Unemployment fell somewhat, from 3.6 per cent in February to 3.5 per cent.
Believe in a new interest rate hike
The job market is now far too strong for the US central bank (FED), says senior economist Robert Bergqvist at SEB.
He believes the figures will support an interest rate hike of 0.25 per cent next month.
– The job market in March is still hot, but no Easter bang. Wage growth is calming down, writes the economist on Twitter.
Wage growth was up 4.2 per cent in March, compared to 4.3 per cent the month before.
Tight labor market
In January and February, the job figures were far above expectations. Senior economist Sara Midtgaard at Handelsbanken points out that a mild winter helped to keep job growth high in these months.
A lack of work in the service sector, as well as in education and health, also contributed to a tight labor market, writes Midtgaard in a morning report from the bank.
Midtgaard expected that the effects of these factors would be reversed in March, and that large-scale layoffs in technology and finance would be evident in the figures from the first spring month.
