Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: March 2023 Report Edition

On April 7, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of March. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth staff highlighting important trends in the data.

The employment rate for prime-age workers increased from 80.5 percent in February to 80.7 percent in March as total nonfarm employment rose by 236,000.

The unemployment rate declined slightly to 3.5 percent in March, and remains high for Black workers (5.0 percent) and Hispanic workers (4.6 percent) compared to White workers (3.2 percent) and Asian American workers (2.8 percent).

Both public-sector and private-sector employment rose in March, though public-sector employment has recovered more slowly and remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Nominal wage growth (not accounting for inflation) declined in March, with average hourly earnings growth at 4.2 percent over the past 12 months, down from 4.6 percent in February.

Top-line unemployment (known as U-3) and a broader measure of labor underutilization (known as U-6) declined slightly in March, as both overall unemployment and underemployment are around pre-pandemic levels.