manufacturing sector
March job growth less than expectedPosted by RJ and Makay on Apr 06, 2012 |
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The U.S. economy added 120,000 non-farm payroll jobs in March and the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.2%, the Labor Department said today. The increase was less than the mean forecast by Bloomberg News Survey, which called for a 205,000 rise in job numbers. The private sector added 121,000 last month, compared to 233,000 in February. Government payrolls declined by 1,000.
Men lost more than twice as many jobs as women during the great recession of 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Since the recession ended in June 2009, men have landed 88% of non-farm payroll jobs. The unemployment rate for males has dropped 2.3% since the end of the recession, to 8.3% in February 2012 from 10.6% in June 2009. It has stayed flat for women, dipping to 8.2% from 8.3% during the same period.
The Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book report indicates that the pace of economic activity around the nation is picking up, although the housing market continues to struggle. The report, released yesterday, shows that consumer spending was strong at the end of 2011 and most parts of the county saw significant gains in holiday sales.
