US economy adds more than expected jobs in March, unemployment down slightly

The US economy added more new jobs than expected in March, coinciding with a slight decline in the unemployment rate during the same period, which indicates continued labor market momentum in the world's largest economies.

Department of Labor data released on Friday showed that the US economy added 303,000 non-farm payroll jobs last month after adding 270,000 jobs in February, which was revised downward by 5,000 jobs.

This compares with expectations of adding 205,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.8% from 3.9%, versus estimates to stabilize at the same level.

The average hourly earnings rose by 0.34%, or equivalent to 12 cents, to $34.69 last month, and grew 4.1% year-on-year (YoY). The average number of weekly working hours also increased to 34.4 hours, from 34.3 hours in February.

Healthcare added 72,000 jobs in March, while employment in government increased by 71,000 and construction added 39,000 jobs.

Following the data release, investors’ expectations for the Federal Reserve’s rate cut at the June meeting fell to 53.2%, compared to 59.1% one day before, and 55.2% a week ago.