Unemployment Rate Falls to Two-Year Low 8.8%; Trucking Adds 1,600 Jobs

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a two-year low rate of 8.8% in March as the economy added about 216,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday.

The trucking industry added 1,600 new jobs to its payrolls, Labor figures showed. Overall transportation and warehousing employment was flat.

The rate fell from 8.9% in February and February’s payroll gain was revised upward slightly to 194,000 jobs, from an originally reported 192,000.

The unemployment rate has fallen a full percentage point over the past four months, the sharpest drop since 1983, the Associated Press reported.

The rate decrease was the fourth straight downturn and the jobs additions were well over economists’ forecasts of 190,000, Bloomberg reported.

Private hiring rose by 230,000, while government payrolls slipped 14,000.

Factory employment rose 17,000, below economists’ forecasts of 30,000, Bloomberg said. Service employment jumped by 185,000 jobs.