document: U.S. economy adds 216,000 jobs in March WASHINGTON - The most-awaited sign that the U.S. economic recovery is firmly taking root arrived yesterday in a Labor Department report that showed vigorous private-sector hiring as the unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month . However , rising food and fuel prices remain threats to a strong economic revival , analysts warned . Employers added a robust 216,000 jobs in March , the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported , as the unemployment rate ticked down one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.8 percent . Private-sector employment rose by 230,000 , but a net loss of 14,000 government jobs nationwide dragged down the broader number . The figures add up to an economy firing on almost all cylinders . '' `` The job market is kicking into full gear . Job growth has accelerated to 200,000 per month , which is sufficient to meaningfully bring down unemployment , '' '' said Mark Zandi , the chief economist forecaster at Moody 's Analytics . '' `` It is also encouraging the job growth is increasingly broad-based across industries . Only state and local governments are laying off workers . '' '' Manufacturers added 17,000 jobs in March , the fifth straight month that they 've boosted employment . The vigorous health-care sector added almost 37,000 jobs , and the category of professional and business services - which includes well-paying white-collar jobs - surged by 78,000 . Temporary employment , usually a harbinger of future hiring , also was up by 28,800 jobs . Even if the March numbers are repeated in the months ahead , however , it will take a long time to erase the 8 million job losses suffered during the Great Recession of 2007-09 , the worst since the 1930s . But March suggests the recovery is taking root . '' `` The numbers were solid , indicating that business confidence is improving to the point where hiring is beginning to step up , '' '' said Chris Varvares , the president of forecaster Macroeconomic Advisers . '' `` Numbers like this will generate income , increase confidence for consumers and are the kinds of numbers we need to see on an ongoing basis to have the self-sustaining recovery and expansion that is in our forecast . '' '' Ohio 's jobless rate was 9.2 percent in February , the most-recent figure available , and the central Ohio rate for that month was 8.2 percent . The job increases in yesterday 's national report and the projection for more new hiring reflect the trend in central Ohio , as well . Manpower 's quarterly employment survey , released early last month , shows that 22 percent of Columbus-area employers interviewed plan to hire during the second quarter . The outlook was the fourth-best among U.S. metropolitan areas . Even though the national report arrived on April Fools ' Day , yesterday 's numbers were no prank . They followed by a day the close of the first quarter of 2011 , when U.S. stocks surged on expectations that the U.S. economy is getting its game back . The benchmark S&P 500 gained 5.4 percent in the first three months of this year , the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 6.7 percent , its best quarter since 1999 , and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 4.8 percent . One shadow grew darker yesterday , as crude oil traded above $ 108 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange , threatening to slow the recovery . High oil prices bring pain at the gasoline pump , sapping consumer spirits and spending power . '' `` Higher energy and other commodity prices are the most serious threat to optimism regarding the job market and broader economy . Oil prices much above current prices for more than a few weeks will do serious damage , '' '' Zandi warned . Higher gasoline prices are like a tax on consumption . Shoppers might cut back their purchases of other goods if pump prices remain high . The AAA auto club said the nationwide average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline stood at $ 3.61 yesterday , up from $ 3.38 a month ago and $ 2.80 a year ago .
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