March jobs report expected to show slower pace of hiring, lower unemployment rate

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Yahoo Finance
March jobs report expected to show slower pace of hiring, lower unemployment rate

Josh Schafer·Reporter
Thu, Apr 4, 2024, 3:50 PM EDT • 3 min read

The March jobs report is expected to show some signs of cooling in the labor market after two months of robust job gains shocked Wall Street to start the year.

The monthly report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, slated for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, is expected to show nonfarm payrolls rose by 213,000 in March while the unemployment rate fell to 3.8% from the previous month, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg. In February, the US economy added 275,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.9%.

Here are the key numbers Wall Street will be looking at compared to the previous month, according to data from Bloomberg:

• Nonfarm payrolls: +213,000 vs. +275,000 previously

• Unemployment rate: 3.8% vs. 3.9% previously

• Average hourly earnings, month-on-month: +0.3% vs. +0.1% previously

• Average hourly earnings, year-on-year: +4.1% vs. +4.3% previously

• Average weekly hours worked: 34.3 vs. 34.3 previously

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