Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until 

8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, April 1, 2022.

Statement of

William W. Beach

Commissioner

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, April 1, 2022

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 431,000 in March, and 

the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 3.6 

percent. Notable job gains continued in leisure and hospitality, 

professional and business services, retail trade, and 

manufacturing.

Job growth averaged 562,000 per month in the first quarter 

of 2022, the same as the average monthly gain for 2021. However, 

employment is down by 1.6 million, or 1.0 percent, from its 

February 2020 level before the onset of the coronavirus 

(COVID-19) pandemic.

Leisure and hospitality continued to add jobs in March 

(+112,000). Job gains occurred in food services and drinking 

places (+61,000) and accommodation (+25,000). Employment in 

leisure and hospitality is down by 1.5 million, or 8.7 percent, 

from its February 2020 level.
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In March, job growth continued in professional and business 

services (+102,000). Employment increased in services to 

buildings and dwellings (+22,000), accounting and bookkeeping 

services (+18,000), management and technical consulting services 

(+15,000), computer systems design and related services 

(+12,000), and scientific research and development services 

(+5,000). Employment in professional and business services is 

723,000 higher than its February 2020 level.

Employment in retail trade rose by 49,000 in March. Job 

gains occurred in general merchandise stores (+20,000) and food 

and beverage stores (+18,000). Retail trade employment is 

278,000 higher than in February 2020.

In March, manufacturing added 38,000 jobs. Employment rose 

by 22,000 in durable goods industries, with gains in 

transportation equipment (+11,000) and electrical equipment and 

appliances (+4,000). Nonmetallic mineral products lost jobs

(-5,000). Nondurable goods added 16,000 jobs in March, including 

a gain in chemicals (+7,000). Manufacturing employment is

128,000 below its February 2020 level.

In March, employment in social assistance increased by 

25,000, with most of the gain in individual and family services 

(+18,000). Employment in social assistance is down by 126,000

since February 2020.
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Construction employment continued to trend up in March 

(+19,000) and has returned to its February 2020 level.

Employment in financial activities grew by 16,000 in March, 

with job gains occurring in real estate and rental and leasing 

(+14,000) and in securities, commodity contracts, and 

investments (+5,000). Employment in financial activities is 

41,000 higher than in February 2020.

Health care employment changed little in March (+8,000), 

following a large increase in the prior month (+66,000). 

Employment in the industry is 298,000 below its February 2020 

level.

In March, employment was essentially unchanged in 

transportation and warehousing (-1,000), following large 

increases in January (+53,000) and February (+70,000). 

Employment in transportation and warehousing is 608,000 above 

its February 2020 level, with particularly strong growth in 

warehousing and storage (+446,000) and couriers and messengers 

(+248,000).

Employment showed little change over the month in other 

major industries, including mining, wholesale trade, 

information, other services, and government.

In March, the average workweek for all private-sector 

workers fell by 0.1 hour to 34.6 hours. The average workweek for 

manufacturing was unchanged at 40.7 hours.
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Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls increased by 13 cents to $31.73 in March. Over the past 

12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 5.6

percent.

Turning to the labor market indicators from the household 

survey, the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point 

to 3.6 percent in March, and the number of unemployed people

decreased by 318,000 to 6.0 million. Both measures are little 

different than their February 2020 levels (3.5 percent and 5.7 

million, respectively).

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for 

adult women (3.3 percent) decreased in March. The jobless rates 

for adult men (3.4 percent), teenagers (10.0 percent), Whites 

(3.2 percent), Blacks (6.2 percent), Asians (2.8 percent), and 

Hispanics (4.2 percent) showed little change over the month.

Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers

fell by 191,000 to 1.4 million in March. This measure is little 

different from its February 2020 level. The number of people on 

temporary layoff, at 787,000, was little changed in March but 

has essentially returned to its February 2020 level. The number 

of job leavers declined by 176,000 over the month to 787,000.

In March, the number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or 

more (often referred to as the long-term unemployed) declined by 

274,000 to 1.4 million. This measure is 307,000 above its 
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February 2020 level. The long-term unemployed accounted for 23.9 

percent of the total unemployed in March.

The labor force participation rate, at 62.4 percent, 

changed little over the month. The employment-population ratio 

increased by 0.2 percentage point to 60.1 percent in March. Both 

measures are up over the year but remain below their February 

2020 levels (63.4 percent and 61.2 percent, respectively).

In March, 4.2 million people were working part time for 

economic reasons, about unchanged from the previous month. The 

number of people affected by this type of underemployment is

little different from its February 2020 level.

The number of people not in the labor force who currently 

want a job increased by 382,000 to 5.7 million in March, 

following a decline of a similar magnitude in the prior month. 

This measure remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 

million.

Among those who were not in the labor force but wanted a 

job, 1.4 million were marginally attached to the labor force in 

March, little changed over the month. (People who are marginally 

attached to the labor force had not actively looked for work in 

the 4 weeks prior to the survey but wanted a job, were available 

for work, and had looked for a job within the last 12 months.) 

The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally 
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attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, was 

essentially unchanged at 373,000 in March.

Looking at supplemental pandemic-related measures from the 

household survey (these supplemental data are not seasonally 

adjusted), the share of employed people who teleworked because 

of the pandemic declined to 10.0 percent in March. These data 

refer only to employed people who teleworked or worked from home 

for pay at some point in the last 4 weeks specifically because 

of the pandemic; they do not include all instances of telework.

In March, the number of people who reported that they had 

been unable to work because their employer closed or lost 

business due to the pandemic fell to 2.5 million. (These 

individuals did not work at all or worked fewer hours at some 

point in the last 4 weeks due to the pandemic.) Among those who 

reported in March that they were unable to work because of 

pandemic-related closures or lost business, 15.4 percent 

received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not 

worked, down from the prior month.

Among those not in the labor force in March, 874,000 people 

were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, down 

from February. (To be counted as unemployed, by definition, 

individuals must either be actively searching for work or on 

temporary layoff.)
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In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 431,000 in 

March, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.6 percent.