Candidate Support
Contact Sales
Customer Support
Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
The United States economy added 98,000 jobs in March 2017 while the unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 4.5 percent, according to The Employment Situation report released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The jobs report revealed that the number of unemployed persons in the U.S. decreased to 7.2 million in March 2017. Employment increased in professional and business services, health care, mining, financial activities, and construction.
- Professional and business services employment added 56,000 jobs in March 2017, about in line with the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months.
- Health care employment rose by 14,000 jobs in March 2017 and has added an average of 20,000 jobs per month in the first three months of this year.
- Mining employment added 11,000 jobs in March 2017 and has risen by 35,000 jobs since reaching a recent low in October 2016.
- Financial activities employment added 9,000 jobs in March 2017 and has increased by 178,000 jobs over the past 12 months.
- Construction employment rose by 6,000 jobs in March 2017 following a gain of 59,000 jobs in February 2017.
Retail trade employment lost 30,000 jobs in March 2017, while employment in other major industries including manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, leisure and hospitality, and government, showed little or no change over the month.
The employment situation for January 2017 was revised from 238,000 to 216,000 jobs added while February 2017 was revised from 235,000 to 219,000 jobs added. With the revisions, employment gains in these two months were 38,000 jobs less than previously reported.
The Employment Situation report is usually released on the first Friday of every month. The Employment Situation for April 2017 is scheduled to be released on May 5, 2017. Until then, the latest report will be available at www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm (PDF).
ESR Helps Employers Fill Jobs with Background Checks
Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) is a strategic choice for employers concerned about accuracy and compliance in their background check programs. To learn how ESR can help employers in any industry fill jobs with background checks, please visit www.esrcheck.com.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
© 2017 Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – Making copies or using of any part of the ESR News Blog or ESR website for any purpose other than your own personal use is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ESR.
