March Report: The Recession in Full-Time Jobs Is Here

People wait in line to speak with prospective employers during a career fair in Los Angeles on Nov. 2, 2023. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

News Analysis

According to a new report from the federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) this week, the U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs for the month of March while the unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.8 percent. In what has become a familiar pantomime, reporters from the legacy media were sure to declare this a “blowout jobs report,” while Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin described the report as “quite strong.”