The monthly jobs report released Friday showed that 228,000 jobs were added to the economy in March, strongly outpacing the growth predicted by analysts.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics report found that transportation and warehousing, healthcare, social assistance, and retail were the largest growth areas. The employment rate remained relatively steady from February, ticking up to 4.2% from 4.1%.
March job growth rose significantly above the 140,000 increase forecasted by the Dow Jones. The rise was also much larger than the 158,000 average 12-month increase, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The report showed that 54,000 jobs were added in healthcare, 24,000 in social assistance, 23,000 in transportation and warehousing, and 24,000 in retail. The jump in retail jobs was aided by more than 10,000 grocery workers ending a strike in February.
The previous 12-month…
