The United States economy showed signs of kicking into gear in March, as the Labor Department reported Friday that it added 216,000 jobs and knocked the unemployment rate down another jot, to 8.8 percent.
As many corners of the global economy are storm-tossed, with oil prices rising and rumblings of a government shutdown in Washington, economists are watching carefully to see if there will be a cumulative effect on hiring. The answer, so far, appears to be no.
The private sector has added, on average, 188,000 jobs in each of the last three months. Manufacturing continued its unlikely — if still modest — revival in March, adding 17,000 jobs. Health care added 37,000 jobs in the month, and professional and business services added another 78,000, although about 37 percent of that came from increases in temporary help. It was the 13th straight month of private-sector job growth.
In all, the Bureau of Labor Statistics breaks the economy into 16 job sectors. The unemployment rate, while still perilously high in a few, has dropped in 13 of those since March 2010.
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