Unemployment Rate Doesn't Budge for 6th Month in Row

Holds steady at 4.1%
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 6, 2018 7:44 AM CDT
Unemployment Rate Doesn't Budge for 6th Month in Row
In this Jan. 31, 2018 photo, a woman speaks to Maui Divers Jewelry representatives at a job fair in Honolulu. Recently released numbers show Hawaii boasts the United States' lowest jobless rate, at 2.1 percent. But experts say the figure is masking underlying problems.   (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

Economists had projected the unemployment rate to drop to 4.0% for the first time since 2000, but that milestone wasn't to be in March: The jobless rate held steady at 4.1% for the sixth consecutive month, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 103,000 jobs were added, well below an expected 178,000. But even with revisions to January and February, the Q1 average sits at 202,000, up from 182,000 a year prior.

The AP's take: "the labor market remains healthy." It notes that hiring has accelerated since last fall, defying expectations that a shortage of workers would make it harder for companies to fill open positions. Employers have added a healthy average of 211,000 jobs a month in the past six months. Average hourly pay ticked up in March, too, climbing 2.7% compared with a year earlier.

(More unemployment stories.)

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