U.S. Added Only 120,000 Jobs in March, Report Shows

The New York Times reports:

The United States economy added a relatively weak 120,000 jobs in March, compared with 240,000 in February, and the unemployment rate dipped to 8.2 percent from 8.3 percent, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Analysts had forecast a 205,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls, according to a Bloomberg survey. The private sector added 121,000 jobs in March, compared with 233,000 in February.

Many economists had expected March to be the fourth consecutive month of solid employment growth, with the addition of more than 200,000 jobs. In the week leading up to the government report, statistics suggested that hiring was picking up pace, although with more than 12 million people unemployment remained relatively high.

“It is obviously disappointing,” said Cliff Waldman, a senior economist at MAPI, the manufacturers alliance. “This provides some pretty good evidence that part of the strength of the prior two months was probably seasonal.”

Anything under 200,000 is a disaster for the so-called "recovery".