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March jobs report 'disappointing' as 103K jobs added
NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long said Friday’s jobs report – with 103,000 jobs gained in March — failed to meet expectations, but that the labor market remains tight.
The unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent in March as 158,000 workers left the labor force. This matched the lowest unemployment level since 2000.
"This was a disappointing employment report, with job gains falling below expectations, downward revisions to prior months, and a contraction to the labor force," said Long. "While this may give the Fed pause as it considers future rate increases, those decisions will be driven primarily by inflation. Based on a broad range of measures, the labor market remains a tight one."
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the federal funds target rate by a quarter-point to a range of 1.5 to 1.75 percent during its meeting in March. The FOMC’s next two-day monetary policy meeting is set for May 1-2.
On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke at the Economic Club of Chicago and said that "monthly inflation readings have been firmer over the past several months, and the 12-month change should move up notably this spring." Friday's speech was Powell's first as Fed chair.
In other report data, private-sector payroll employment increased 102,000 jobs during March. The goods-producing sector increased 15,000 jobs, while the service sector increased 87,000 jobs. Public sector employment rose 1,000 from the prior month.
Average hourly earnings increased 8 cents to $26.82 in March. Over the last 12 months, wages are up 2.7 percent. Since 2009, year-over-year wage growth has averaged just 2.2 percent.