WASHINGTON – Non-farm payroll employment rose 120,000 in March and the unemployment rate dipped to 8.2%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The increase in March non-farm payroll employment was the result of gains in the manufacture of motor vehicles, machinery, metals, and paper.
The gain was lower than the median 201,000 rise estimated by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, but the 8.2% unemployment rate was very near the 8.3% they predicted.
The 120,000 non-farm payroll employment gain for March followed a revised 240,000 increase for February, originally reported as a gain of 227,000.
Total private payrolls were up 121,000 while government payrolls were down 1,000 in March.
Manufacturing employers added 37,000 jobs, after gaining an unrevised 31,000 jobs in February.
Average hourly earnings were $19.68 in March, up 0.2% from $19.65 in February.
The workweek for all private workers was 33.8 hours, unchanged from February.
