Economy Lost 80,000 Jobs in March

Posted on April 4, 2008

The economy lost jobs in March for the third month in a row. 80,000 jobs were lost and the job losses were spread over a number of industries according to the Associated Press.

The new snapshot of the job market, released by the Labor Department Friday, underscored the damage that a trio of crises --in the housing, credit and financial sectors -- has inflicted on companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole.
"The labor market has indeed turned south," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "That was the one last bastion of hope to stay out of a recession. Now the question is how deep and how long will it last?"
The unemployment rate was the highest since September 2005, when significant job losses followed the devastating blows of Gulf Coast hurricanes.
Job losses were widespread in March. Construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and various business services all racked up losses. That overwhelmed gains elsewhere, including in education and health care, leisure and hospitality as well as in government.

The national unemployment rate climbed from 4.8% to 5.1% in March. The complete March jobs report can be found here. The report indicates that construction and manufacturing have been hard hit.

Employment in construction declined by 51,000 in March and has fallen by 394,000 since its peak in September 2006.

Manufacturing employment fell by 48,000 in March and by 310,000 over the past 12 months.