Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press
under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the
data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
                                                                
                          Statement of
                                
                         John M. Galvin
                       Acting Commissioner                                
                   Bureau of Labor Statistics
                                
                      Friday, April 6, 2012
                                

     Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000 in March, and the
unemployment rate, at 8.2 percent, changed little.  Over the
prior 3 months, nonfarm job growth had averaged 246,000 per
month.  Since a recent low point in February 2010, payroll
employment has risen by 3.6 million.  Over the month, employment
rose in manufacturing, food services and drinking places, and
health care, while retail trade employment declined.
     
     Manufacturing employment grew by 37,000 in March and has
increased by 470,000 since a recent low point in January 2010.
Essentially all of the net gain over this period occurred in
durable goods.  In March, employment increased in motor vehicles
and parts, machinery, fabricated metals, and paper manufacturing.
     
     Food services and drinking places added 37,000 jobs over the
month.  Since a recent low point in February 2010, employment in
this industry has grown by 563,000.
     
     Health care employment continued to expand in March, rising
by 26,000.  Offices of physicians and hospitals each added 8,000
jobs.
     
     Employment in professional and business services continued
to trend up over the month (+31,000).  Within professional and
business services, services to buildings and dwellings added
23,000 jobs.  Employment in temporary help services was about
unchanged in March after increasing by 55,000 in February.
Within financial activities in March, employment increased in
credit intermediation (+11,000), which includes commercial
banking.
     
     Retail trade employment declined by 34,000 in March.  A job
loss in general merchandise stores more than offset gains in
building material and garden supply stores and in health and
personal care stores.
     
     Employment in other major industries changed little in
March.  Government employment has been essentially unchanged thus
far in 2012.  Government had lost 265,000 jobs in 2011.
     
     Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls increased by 5 cents in March to $23.39.  Over the past
12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.1 percent.
From February 2011 to February 2012, the Consumer Price Index for
All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 2.9 percent.
     
     Turning now to data from the survey of households, the
unemployment rate, at 8.2 percent, changed little in March.
Jobless rates for the major worker groups showed little or no
change.  At 12.7 million, the number of unemployed persons was
also little changed from the prior month.  Among the unemployed,
5.3 million had been jobless for 27 weeks and over.
     
     Both the employment-population ratio, at 58.5 percent, and
the labor force participation rate, at 63.8 percent, were about
unchanged in March.  Among the employed, 7.7 million people
worked part time although they would have preferred full-time
employment, down from 8.1 million in February.
     
     In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000 in
March.  The unemployment rate was little changed at 8.2 percent.