The US economy posted solid jobs growth in March and the unemployment rate ticked up but remained near an eight-year low, the US Labour Department has reported.
The economy added 215,000 jobs in March, with job growth easing a bit as expected amid mixed economic data, particularly weakness in consumer spending.
But overall the labour market is a bright spot in the economy, a key reason for the Federal Reserve's historic interest rate increase in December.
Analysts on average anticipated jobs growth of 200,000 in March. The Labour Department slightly revised downward the gains in February and January by a combined 1,000 jobs.
Still, over the quarter, the average monthly gain was 209,000.
Despite the still-healthy pace of hiring in March, the jobless rate rose a tenth point to 5% as a growing number of people entered the jobs market.
The rate had held at 5% from October through December, before dipping for the first two months of the year to 4.9%, an eight-year low.
The participation rate in the labour force, which measures those having a job or seeking employment, rose to 63%, its strongest level since March 2014.
That represents nearly 400,000 people entering the jobs market and in part explains the slight uptick in the unemployment rate.
"On balance, a Goldilocks report, with decent job growth and a participation increase that should alleviate any inflationary concerns," said Chris Low of FTN Financial.
