Employers added 211,000 jobs in March

On the jobs front, payroll gains in January and February turned out to be slightly less than previously reported but still suggest decent job growth. Employers added 154,000 jobs in January, versus the 170,000 estimated a month ago. In February, payrolls grew by 225,000, rather than the 243,000 previously reported.

Employees’ average hourly earnings, meanwhile, were $16.49 in March, a modest 0.2 percent increase from February. Economists were forecasting a 0.3 percent increase.

With the economy growing smartly and the job market flowering, the Federal Reserve and other economists are keeping a close eye on wage growth.

Wage improvement is good for workers, but a rapid, sustained acceleration would trigger inflation concerns.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues boosted interest rates on March 28 to a five-year high and hinted that additional increases were possible to keep inflation at bay.

An improving job market and stepped-up production “in combination with the elevated prices of energy and other commodities have the potential to add to inflation pressures,” Fed policymakers said at the March meeting.

Economists believe rates will go up again on May 10.

The report also showed the average time that the 7 million unemployed spent searching for work in March was 16.9 weeks, down from 17.6 weeks in February.

The employment figures for March come against the backdrop of a rebounding economy. Analysts believe the economy emerged from an end-of-year funk and grew at an annual rate of 4.5 percent or higher in the just ended January-to-March quarter. The economy is expected to moderate in the current April-to-June quarter but still turn in a good performance.

The employment report showed that construction companies added 7,000 jobs in March. Retailers expanded employment by 29,000 positions. Financial companies added 16,000 jobs. Education and health care boosted payrolls by 33,000 and the government by 24,000. Manufacturers, however, cut 5,000 jobs and the transportation and warehousing sector shed 7,600 positions.

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