http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/02/news/economy/jobs_march/index.htm?hpt=T1Finally! Job growth returns
By Chris Isidore, senior writerApril 2, 2010: 8:45 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) --
The economy had its biggest jump in jobs in three years in March, according to a government report released Friday.The Labor Department said the economy gained 162,000 jobs in the month, compared to a revised reading of a 14,000 job loss in February. That makes March only the third month since the start of 2008 that employers did not cut payrolls. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 184,000 jobs.
While the news was positive, there were a number of short-term factors that inflated the reading, including an addition of 48,000 by the Census Bureau as it geared up for the once-in-a-decade headcount of the U.S. population. March's count was also bolstered by seasonal factors -- February's numbers had been depressed by temporary job losses related to severe winter storms last month.
Still the addition was good news for an economy that has suffered a net loss of 8.2 million jobs since the start of 2008, a month after the official start of the recession.
January's reading was revised from a loss to a gain of 14,000 jobs, and February's job loss was also narrowed in the revision. The only other month with even a modest job gain was November 2009, when there was a net gain of 64,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate held steady 9.7% in February, matching economist expectations.