US labor market gradually cools in March – odds of rate hike increase

The US labor market experienced a gradual slowdown in March as employers added 236,000 workers, but the bump was enough to continue downward pressure on the unemployment rate, bringing it down to 3.5%.

This follows a year of robust growth after the Federal Reserve aggressively raised interest rates to combat high inflation. Throughout January and February 2023, approximately 800,000 jobs were added, with the unemployment rate remaining at historic lows.

These latest figures followed the trend set by the JOLT numbers earlier this week, which are released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to show job openings.

A number of big companies have been cutting back, or laying off staff such as Walmart, McDonalds, General Motors, Salesforce, Disney and Meta.

In March, the leisure and hospitality industry saw the largest job gains, adding 72,000 new workers. The temporary help services sector followed closely behind, contributing 65,000 new workers to the job market. The labor force participation rate increased slightly from 62.5% to 62.6% in March, while the average weekly hours worked decreased from 34.5 to 34.4.