NATIONAL REPORT—The U.S. economy added 196,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate is unchanged at 3.8%, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job gains occurred in several industries, including healthcare and in professional and technical services.
The unemployment rate remained at 3.8% in March, and the number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 6.2 million.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.6%), adult women (3.3%), teenagers (12.8%), Whites (3.4%), Blacks (6.7%), Asians (3.1%) and Hispanics (4.7%) showed little or no change in March.
In March, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.3 million and accounted for 21.1% of the unemployed.
The labor force participation rate, at 63%, was little changed over the month and has shown little movement on net over the past 12 months. The employment-population ratio was 60.6% in March and has been either 60.6% or 60.7% since October 2018.
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed at 4.5 million in March. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
