Payrolls in U.S. Rise 162,000; Unemployment at 9.7%

From BLOOMBERG:

Employment in the U.S. increased in March by the most in three years and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent as companies gained confidence the economic recovery will be sustained.

Payrolls rose by 162,000 last month, less than anticipated, after a revised 14,000 decrease in February that was smaller than initially estimated, figures from the Labor Department in Washington showed today. The March increase included 48,000 temporary workers hired by the government to help conduct the 2010 census. Average hourly earnings fell and hours worked rose…

“Labor markets have shifted to expansion mode,” said Aaron Smith, a senior economist at Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “Some of the increase was payback for weather but more encouraging is that the recovery in hiring is spreading quickly across industries. This was broad-based.” …

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