U.S. employers maintained a brisk pace of hiring in March, driving the unemployment rate to a new two-year low of 3.6% while also boosting wages, resulting in a further tightening of labor market conditions and opening the door to a hefty 50 basis points interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in May.
Highlights
- Employers maintain a brisk pace of hiring in March, driving the unemployment rate to a new two-year low of 3.6%.
- Employment in some sectors now above pre-pandemic levels.
- Employment in professional and business services, financial activities and retail sectors.
- Employment is now 1.6 million jobs below its pre-Pandemic level.
- President Joe Biden welcomed the upbeat report saying more people working could help ease the pressure on supply chains.
- The Fed last month raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis points, the first hike in more than three years.