March Payrolls Grow By 308,000; Unemployment Rate Rises to 5.7%

ayrolls surged by 308,000 in March, the largest gain in nearly four years, but the unemployment rate rose to 5.7% from 5.6% as more people returned to the labor force to look for work, the Labor Department said Friday.

The increase followed gains that were revised upward to 46,000 for February and 159,000 for January. Manufacturing employment was unchanged, the first month without a decline since August 2000.

Economists had expected payrolls would rise by 120,000 last month following a previously reported increase of 21,000 in

Employment in service-producing industries rose 230,000 last month after rising 70,000 in February. Grocery store workers returning to their jobs after a strike in California helped push employment at food stores up by 13,000.

Average weekly hours worked for all employees fell to 33.7 hours in March from 33.8 the prior month.