WASHINGTON — Employers added 431,000 jobs in March, a sign of a strong economy as the nation continues its recovery from the pandemic.
The unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent according to the latest report from the U.S. Labor Department.
Despite rising inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and a war in Europe, employers have added at least 400,000 jobs for 11 straight months.
Notable job gains continued in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade and manufacturing.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult women (3.3 percent) declined in March. The jobless rates for adult men (3.4 percent), teenagers (10.0 percent), Whites (3.2 percent), Blacks (6.2 percent), Asians (2.8 percent), and Hispanics (4.2 percent) showed little change over the month.
Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers decreased by 191,000 to 1.4 million in March and is little different from its February 2020 level of 1.3 million prior to the onset of the pandemic.
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