Unemployment Remains At 4.1% For Sixth Month In A Row

The March jobs report is out and, according to experts, its something of a disappointment.

The U.S. economy added just 103,000 jobs were added last month. Wall Street economists expected 185,000, according to Bloomberg.

For the 6th straight month the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%.

Average earnings per hour are up 2.7% compared to this time last year.

The January and February reports were revised down which resulted in 50,000 less new jobs than previously reported.

All of that said, the U.S. economy is showing itself to be in solid shape, as it has been now for 8 years.

This isn't something new, something that Donald Trump has created. With 90 straight months now of positive growth, it's notable that the first 76 of those months were heavy-lifting under the Obama administration coming out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

The good news is Trump's policies haven't had a negative effect as we continue on the same trajectory of the previous 7 years before him.

The bad news is wage growth is not being reflected in a way that most economists expect.

Republicans will always tell you jobs mean more money. And certainly having a job means having money.

But considering the healthy economic environment we're seeing, employers are not passing that on to employees in the form of higher wages.

In light of the current employment market, an increase of only 2.7% in hourly wages is on the measly side.

We'll see if the possible trade war with China has an impact on the U.S. jobs market in the next 6-8 months.

If you got over-excited about strong growth last month, this report should undo it: Payrolls about 100k below expectations, and revisions subtract another 50k.

Put it together: Over the past 3 months, job growth averaged a more reasonable +202k.

Roughly same as it has for years

— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) April 6, 2018

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