March 2024 Jobs Report

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their March 2024 ‘Employment Situation’ report on April 5, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. We’ve analyzed their report and uncovered their most notable findings. Here is everything you need to know about the job market this past month.

Unemployment Rate

The unemployment rate was 3.8% this month, which is a decrease from last month’s 3.9%. The unemployment rate has been in the narrow range of 3.7 to 3.9 percent since August of 2023. The number of unemployed people sits at 6.4 million, which is a slight decrease in change from last months 6.5 million.

Job & Industry Trends

According to the report, the toal nonfarm payroll employment rose by 303,000 in March, which is much higher than the overall average monthly gain of 231,000 jobs over the past 12 months. There were noticable gains in several industries including healthcare, government, and construction. Only one industry saw a downtrend, and that was utilities.

The private education and health services industry added 88,000 jobs in March, with 72,000 of those jobs being in the healthcare field. Job growth continued in ambulatory healthcare services (+28,000), hospitals (+27,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+18,000).

The government sector increased by 71,000 jobs this past month, which is higher than the average monthly gain of 54,000 jobs over the last 12 months. Employment increased in local government (+49,000) and federal government (+9,000).

In March, construction added 39,000 jobs, which is about double of the average monthly gain from the past 12 months. The most notable gain was increased employment for nonresidential specialty trade contractors (+16,000).

Other notable industry gains in March 2024:

· Leisure & Hospitality: +49,000 jobs added

· Retail Trade: +18,000 jobs added

· Other Services: +16,000 jobs added

· Social Assistance: +9,000 jobs added

Hourly Earnings

The average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 0.3 percent (12 cents) to $34.69 this past month.

What This Means

Reports state that America is in the middle of its fifth-longest stretch of employment gains in history, with 39 consecutive months of job growth. The job market is one of the strongest historically, with the unemployment rate being below 4% for 26 months in a row, the longest streak since the late 1960s.

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