US employers add 215K jobs in March

In March, the nation’s nonfarm payroll employment rose by 215,000 jobs, according to data released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The jobless rate, however, ticked up a tenth of a point to 5 percent. The data is not seasonally adjusted, according to a news release.

Jobs gains were led by the retail trade, construction and health care fields.

Retail trade employers hired 48,000 workers in March. Of those jobs, 12,000 were at general merchandise stores, 10,000 were at health and personal care stores, 10,000 were at building material and garden suppliers, and 5,000 were at auto dealers, according to the release.

Construction employment rose by 37,000 jobs last month. During the year ended March 31, employers in the sector added 301,000 jobs.

Health care employers also increased payroll ranks in March by 37,000. The largest portion was in ambulatory health care services, at 27,000 jobs, according to the release.

Two industries that experienced losses were manufacturing, which fell by 29,000 jobs last month, and mining, which declined by 12,000.

In March, the number of unemployed people, roughly 8 million, was little changed from February, according to the BLS.