Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning, which showed 303,000 jobs added in March. Read the full thread here. 

Strong #jobsreport out this morning with great news from both #BLS surveys. Payroll survey shows 303,000 jobs added in March along with normalizing nominal wage growth. The household survey finds mild improvements in the unemployment rate as participation and employment rise. pic.twitter.com/d9s8Rjg9gy

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) April 5, 2024

While both surveys are telling a similar story of a strong labor market, the household survey is notably more volatile especially for smaller populations. That said, the Black unemployment rate has increased four months in a row. Hopefully that will improve in coming months.

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) April 5, 2024

Job growth in March was fastest in health care and social assistance, followed by the public sector, leisure and hospitality, and construction. pic.twitter.com/ybQ3xJS42c

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) April 5, 2024

The gains in public sector employment is another promising sign in the report. Overall government jobs were up 71,000 in March, including some in state and local employment. After faltering earlier in the recovery, state and local jobs are now up 1.3% since Feb 2020. pic.twitter.com/laVtzzKfW5

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) April 5, 2024