The economy grew for the 39th straight month, adding 303,000 in March, and beating economists forecasts of an estimated 200,000, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported on Friday (April 4).
The unemployment rate decreased to 3.8%, coming in below 4% for 26 months in a row, the longest streak since the 1960s.
About a year ago, analysts were predicting that a recession was only months away. From late 2021 through early last year, inflation was outstripping wage gains, according to reports. Inflation has remained above 3% in 2024.
To combat high inflation, which was at a 40-year high by the middle of 2022, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates 11 times from March 2022 through July 2023. Consumer prices were up 3.2% in February from a year earlier, far below a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022.
The most recent inflation report found that grocery prices increased by 1% in February compared to a year prior. In the last three years, grocery prices have risen 21%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average hourly earnings rose 12 cents to $34.69, after a hike of 18 cents in January. rose 0.3 percent in March from the previous month and were up 4.1 percent from March 2023.
The healthcare industry added 72,000 jobs last month, the most of any sector, according to the DOL. The government added 71,000 new jobs, with leisure and hospitality adding 49,000. The construction industry added 39,000 people. There were little to no job gains in the retail, financial services and transportation and warehousing sectors.
