Day 21 Unemployment rate jumps to 4.4%

As expected, U.S. jobless claims are skyrocketing.

The Department of Labor released its monthly jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday. Here were the main metrics from the report, compared to consensus data compiled by Bloomberg:

  • Change in non-farm payrolls, March: -701,000 vs. -100,000 expected and +275,000 in February
  • Unemployment rate, March: 4.4% vs. 3.8% expected and 3.5% in February
  • Average hourly earnings, month on month: 0.4% vs. 0.2% expected and 0.3% in February
  • Average hourly earnings, year on year: 3.1% vs. +3.0% expected and +3.0% in February