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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that employment growth totaled 228,000 in March, rising above the 140,000-figure projected by Dow Jones economists, according to CNBC. March job growth nearly doubled the previous month’s total, which was revised down by 34,000 to 117,000. The BLS also revised January’s job growth down by 14,000, from 125,000 to 111,000. The U.S. unemployment rate in March was 4.2 percent, up slightly from 4.1 percent in February. In March, job gains were concentrated in the healthcare, social assistance and transportation and warehousing sectors. More specifically, the healthcare sector added 54,000 jobs, including gains in ambulatory health services (+20,000), hospitals (+17,000) and nursing and residential care facilities (+17,000). Social assistance increased by 24,000 jobs, higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the previous 12 months. Retail trade added 24,000 jobs in March — as workers returned from strike — to contribute to a gain in food-and-beverage retailers (+21,000). On the contrary, general merchandise retailers lost 5,000 jobs since February. The transportation and warehousing sector contributed 23,000 overall jobs, roughly double the prior 12-month average gain of 12,000. Meanwhile, a job loss in warehousing and storage (-9,000) partially offset …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that U.S. employment growth totaled 151,000 in February, falling below the 170,000 figure projected by Dow Jones economists, according to CNBC. February job growth exceeded the previous month’s total, which was revised down by 18,000 jobs to 125,000. The BLS also revised December’s job growth upward, from 307,000 jobs to 323,000. The U.S. unemployment rate increased slightly to 4.1 percent. The healthcare sector led the way in job creation in February with 52,000 jobs, including gains in ambulatory healthcare services (+26,000), hospitals (+15,000) and nursing and residential care facilities (+12,000). The financial sector contributed 21,000 overall jobs, including gains to real estate, rental and leasing (+10,000) and insurance carriers (+5,000). Commercial banking lost 5,000 jobs. Additional sectors that contributed employment increases were transportation and warehousing (+18,000) and social assistance (+11,000). The BLS also reports that federal government employment declined by 10,000 while government payrolls simultaneously increased overall by 11,000. Additionally, retail employment declined by 6,000 jobs. Employment in the food-and-beverage industry declined by 15,000, largely due to strike activity by workers at restaurant chains such as Starbucks. On the contrary, warehouse clubs, supercenters and other general merchandise retailers …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added 143,000 jobs in January, falling short of the 169,000 figure projected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that employers added 111,000 private sector jobs, while government sector employment grew by 32,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in January was 4 percent, down from 4.1 percent the prior month. The BLS noted that neither the wildfires in Southern California that began in early January nor the cold weather across much of the country for a significant portion of the month had any discernable impact on national payroll employment, hours and earnings. In January, job gains occurred in healthcare, retail trade and social assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and the oil and gas extraction industry. More specifically, the healthcare sector added 44,000 jobs in January, including gains in hospitals (+14,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+13,000), and home health care services (+11,000). Job growth in healthcare averaged 57,000 per month in 2024. Retail trade employment increased by 34,000 in January. Job gains occurred in general merchandise retailers (+31,000) and furniture and home furnishings retailers (+5,000). Electronics and appliance retailers lost 7,000 jobs. Retail trade …