US sees 162,000 new jobs in March; unemployment rate at 9.7%

The US saw an addition of 162,000 new jobs in March, the highest gain in almost three years, while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 per cent last month.

However, about 48,000 new jobs last month came from the government's temporary hiring for collecting census data.

"Non-farm payroll employment rose by 162,000 in March, and the unemployment rate was 9.7 per cent for the third month in a row," the US Labor Department said today.

The number of new jobs created last month are less than analysts' estimate, which pegged the same at 200,000.

Even though the national economy is expanding at a healthy rate, the employment market continues to remain shaky.

In a statement, the Labor Department said that job gains continued in temporary help services and in health care whereas employment declined in financial activities.

The March employment increase also included 48,000 workers hired by the federal government for Census 2010, it added.

"Of the 15 million unemployed in March, 6.5 million had been jobless for 27 weeks or more, an increase of 414,000 over the month. These long-term unemployed made up 44.1 per cent of all unemployed persons, a record high," Commissioner (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Keith Hall said.

In March, as many as 21,000 jobs evaporated in financial activities.

Over the last three months, manufacturing sector added 45,000 jobs, with most of the gains in durable goods industries.