By Tuba Ongun
The US economy added 228,000 jobs in March, significantly surpassing market expectations, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.
Economists had forecast a 137,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls for the month.
Job gains were primarily driven by the health care, social assistance, and transportation and warehousing sectors.
"Employment also increased in retail trade, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike," it said.
February’s job growth figure was revised downward, from 151,000 to 117,000.
Despite stronger-than-expected job growth, the unemployment rate in March rose slightly to 4.2%, higher than the market forecast of 4.1%.
The number of unemployed people was 7.1 million in March, while the labor force participation rate was at 62.5%.