US adds 303,000 jobs in March, tops estimates

The US added a more-than-expected 303,000 nonfarm jobs in March and the jobless rate ticked lower, more signs the labor market remains robust in the face of higher borrowing costs.

Job gains in March topped analysts' estimates of about 200,000 for the month and followed upward revisions of 22,000 jobs for the prior two months, leaving February gains at 270,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Gains over the prior 12 months averaged 231,000.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.8pc in March from 3.9pc the prior month.

Futures markets showed about a 53pc probability of rate cuts beginning in June after the report was released, compared with about 66pc odds prior to the report. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell this week reiterated that policymakers needed "greater confidence" inflation was sustainably slowing before beginning to cut the Fed target rate, currently at a 23-year high. Still, he said, most Fed policymakers expected rate cuts to begin "at some point this year."

Health care added 72,000 jobs and government added 71,000 jobs. Construction added 39,000 jobs, about double the recent monthly average, while manufacturing was unchanged and mining added 3,000 jobs.

Average hourly earnings were up by an annual 4.1pc in March, down from 4.3pc for the year through February and reflecting easing wage pressures as inflation slows.

By Bob Willis