Companies Add Jobs, but Unemployment Up
Apr 2, 8:49 AM (ET)
By LEIGH STROPE
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's unemployment rate bumped up to 5.7 percent in March while companies added 308,000 new jobs - the most in four years, providing long-awaited evidence that the weak jobs market may be gaining steam.
The Labor Department report released Friday showed widespread hiring in industries across the economy at a time when President Bush's re-election campaign, counting heavily on a pickup in hiring, jumped into high gear.
For the first time in 44 months, the nation's factories did not shed jobs. But they weren't hiring either. March's figures show zero gains and losses for industries hammered by the economic downturn that began three years ago. The only sector losing jobs last month was information services, where companies cut about 1,000 jobs.
Revisions to payrolls showed a stronger jobs market than previously thought. Companies added 205,000 jobs in January and February, instead of the 118,000 reported last month.
The civilian unemployment rate, however, ticked up 0.1 percentage point from 5.6 percent in February. That occurred because more job seekers renewed their searches last month, but were unsuccessful.
The health of the nation's economy, especially the job climate, is a major issue in this year's presidential race. The economy has lost almost 2 million jobs since Bush took office in January 2001.
The economy rebounded strongly after the 2001 recession and terrorist attacks. But job creation didn't follow, and hiring remained at a standstill. That appears to be changing. Businesses have added to their payrolls - however slightly - for seven straight months.
But for out-of-work Americans, the economic rebound has been frustratingly slow. In March, there were 8.35 million people unemployed, compared with 8.17 million the previous month. The average duration of unemployment has been more than 20 weeks, a 20-year high.
Jobless workers are increasingly accepting part-time work. The number of people who worked part time for economic reasons rose to 4.7 million in March, up from 4.4 million the previous month.