US economy gains 431,000 jobs

3.5% unemployment

The US economy gained 431,000 jobs in March, pushing the unemployment level almost back to pre-pandemic levels.

The Labor Department said today that the unemployment rate in March was 3.6%, down from 3.8% a month earlier and almost back to the pre-pandemic level of 3.5%. Among the sectors that made gains were leisure and hospitality (112,000), retail trade (49,000) and manufacturing (38,000). Job openings and workers quitting their jobs also remain at near record high levels, with the Labor Department stating that demand for workers is at its highest in decades. Neil Birrell, CIO at Premier Miton Investors, said that "with some sentiment indicators in the US pointing in the wrong direction, ...