Apr

Gov’t Reports 162,000 Jobs Added in March

Boosted by hiring for the Census and a rebound from bad weather, the U.S. economy created 162,000 jobs in March, the largest seasonally adjusted increase in nonfarm payrolls in three years, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Later, the story quotes Mizuho Securities economist Steve Ricchiuto and RBC Capital Markets economist Tom Porcelli:

The March report “doesn’t tell you much about sustainability,” said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist for Mizuho Securities USA.

The report was mixed, said Tom Porcelli, an economist for RBC Capital Markets. “No need to celebrate at all.” He expects modest job gains in coming months.

The government reports new jobs, and the private sector remains unimpressed, even cynical. I’m not a believer in the new “behavioral economics” that looks to psychology to explain economic phenomena, but there is something to be said about 2 influential economists coming off as near despondent despite the first positive jobs reports in years.

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