Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press 

under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that 

the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. 

Statement of 

Keith Hall 

Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

before the 

Joint Economic Committee 

UNITED STATES CONGRESS 

Friday, April 1, 2011

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: 

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the employment and 

unemployment data we released this morning. 

In March, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 216,000, and 

private-sector employment rose by 230,000. The unemployment 

rate was little changed at 8.8 percent; the rate has declined by 

one percentage point since November 2010. Since a recent low 

point in February 2010, nonfarm payroll employment has risen by 

1.5 million. Private-sector employment rose by 1.8 million over 

the same period, an average of 138,000 per month. In March, job 

growth occurred in professional and business services, health 
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care, leisure and hospitality, and mining. Manufacturing 

employment continued to trend up over the month. 

Professional and business services employment rose by 

78,000 in March. This industry has added 692,000 jobs since a 

recent low point in September 2009. In March, employment in 

temporary help services rose by 29,000. Temporary help services 

has added about a half million jobs since August 2009. 

Employment in health care continued to rise in March 

(+37,000). The increase was spread among several components, 

including ambulatory health care services (+18,000), hospitals 

(+10,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000). 

Since the start of the recent recession in December 2007, health 

care employment has risen by 902,000, while total nonfarm 

employment has declined by 7.2 million. 

The leisure and hospitality industry added 37,000 jobs in 

March. Growth in food services and drinking places (+27,000) 

accounted for most of the increase. 

Within goods-producing industries, mining employment rose 

by 14,000 in March, mostly due to an increase in support 

activities for mining (+9,000). Since a recent low point in 

October 2009, mining employment has risen by 96,000. 

Employment in manufacturing continued to trend up in March 

(+17,000). Factory job gains continued to be concentrated in 

durable goods, with over-the-month increases in fabricated metal 
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products (+8,000) and machinery (+5,000). Construction 

employment changed little over the month. 

Employment in local government continued to trend down over 

the month (-15,000). This sector has lost 416,000 jobs since 

its employment peak in September 2008. 

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls were unchanged in March at $22.87. Over the past 12 

months, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.7 percent. From 

February 2010 to February 2011, the Consumer Price Index for All 

Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 2.2 percent. 

Turning to measures from the survey of households, the 

unemployment rate was little changed at 8.8 percent in March. 

The jobless rate has declined by one percentage point since 

November 2010. Over that period, unemployment declined by 

nearly 1.5 million, and employment rose by 1.4 million, leaving 

the labor force nearly unchanged on net (after accounting for 

the population adjustment in January). 

In March, the labor force participation rate held at 64.2 

percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 58.5 percent, 

was little changed. The number of long-term unemployed remained 

high at 6.1 million, 45.5 percent of total unemployment. Over 

the month, the number of individuals who were working part time 

although they would have preferred full-time work was 8.4 

million, down from 9.0 million a year earlier. 
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In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 216,000 in 

March, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.8 

percent. 

My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your 

questions.