The US unemployment rate climbed in March to its highest level since mid-1999 as payrolls logged their sharpest fall in nearly a decade, the US government said today. The announcement was made in a report that stoked speculation the Federal Reserve could cut rates before its next meeting.
The US Labour Department said a total 86,000 jobs were lost in March - the first month in which jobs were cut from payrolls since August last year.
It was the sharpest reduction in monthly employment since a loss of 94,000 jobs in November 1991, not long after the last recession had ended and while doubts were still lingering that the downturn was over.
The payrolls performance stood in sharp contrast to economists' expectations of a gain of 58,000 jobs and was much weaker than the revised 140,000 jobs created in February.
The national unemployment rate edged up to 4.3 per cent last month from 4.2 per cent in February. The last time that the rate was that high was in June and July 1999, when it also was 4.3 per cent.
There were widespread signs of developing labor market weakness.
Another sign of labour market softness is the recent increase in the number of unemployed job losers who did not expect to be recalled to their jobs. That number has risen by more than 250,000 to almost 1.9 million in the first three months of this year.