The 180,000 jobs gained last month, the biggest increase in three months, handily beat the 130,000 expected by the consensus forecast of private economists. The unemployment rate slid by one-tenth of a point to 4.4%, equaling its recent low of last October. Joblessness hasn't been lower since May 2001, just before the last recession.
Construction accounted for 56,000 jobs, or nearly one-third of March's increase. Analysts were unsure whether that indicated the beginning of the end of the housing industry's troubles or whether it was merely a rebound from February, when cold weather over much of the country helped send construction jobs down 61,000.
Manufacturing maintained its relentless march downward. Its March loss of 16,000 jobs marked its ninth straight month of going the wrong way. Manufacturing now accounts for barely more than 1 job in 10.
The Labor Department also revised upward by 32,000 the number of jobs added in January and February.
Jared Bernstein, an economist with the liberal Economic Policy Institute, remained unimpressed with overall job creation during the current economic expansion. It was only about four years into the last recovery that total employment reached its prerecession peak, he said. Monthly job growth of 180,000 would have been considered sub-par in the booming economy of the late 1990s.
Now, six years later, 4% more Americans are employed than at the beginning of the recession, according to Bernstein. If job growth had followed the path of the previous cycle, when employment had risen by 9% at this stage, 7 million more Americans would have jobs, he said.
Wages, which initially lagged behind job growth as the economy recovered from its 2001 recession, continued their more recent growth -- good news for workers but not so good for inflation prospects.
Average hourly earnings of production workers increased by 6 cents to $17.22, and weekly earnings rose by $3.75 to $583.76. Over the last year, hourly earnings have risen by 4% and weekly earnings by 4.4%.
Thus, earnings are rising faster than price inflation, which, excluding food and energy, rose 2.4% in the most recent 12 months.
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joel.havemann@latimes.com
