The United States economy added a disappointing 120,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported on Friday, about half the gains posted in each of the preceding three months.

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U.S. Added Only 120,000 Jobs in March, Report Shows

The recent improvement in the nation’s job market slowed substantially in March as employers expanded payrolls by 120,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. The number of new jobs fell far below economists’ estimates and marked the first time since November that employers added fewer than 200,000 jobs. Despite the disappointing numbers, the nation’s unemployment rate ticked down to 8.2 percent. Read full article > >

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U.S. hiring slowed sharply in March; unemployment fell to 8.2%

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to the lowest level since April 2008, the Labor Department said.

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Jobless Claims Reach New Four-Year Low

The Labor Department said the number of people applying for benefits for the week ending Feb. 18 stayed at 351,000, an indication of an improving job market.

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New Jobless Claims Remain at Four-Year Low

The nation’s unemployment rate dropped for the fifth straight month to 8.3 percent, its lowest level in three years, the Labor Department reported Friday, with widespread hiring across the economy. The number of jobs grew by 243,000, the government said . Read full article > >

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U.S. adds 243K jobs in January; unemployment rate drops to 8.3%

Indications are that the nation’s gloomy jobs picture continues to brighten, but experts disagree on two crucial points: the pace of improvement and whether the recent gain in momentum will continue through 2012. The Labor Department will add a piece to the puzzle Friday when it releases its monthly jobs report offering the official take on what happened last month in the nation’s job market. Read full article > >

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Employment outlook remains mixed

The monthly jobs report from the Labor Department on Friday may offer a decided upturn, but there are reasons to be cautious about the harbingers of that result and the actual jobs created.

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Economix Blog: Signs of Hope on Jobs, and Some Caveats

WASHINGTON — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped last week to its lowest level since April 2008, extending a downward trend that shows the job market strengthening. First-time applications for unemployment benefits fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the third straight weekly drop. Read full article > >

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Unemployment applications drop to lowest since April ‘08 as job market continues to strengthen

The Labor Department said payrolls grew by 120,000 in November, a new indicator of economic resilience, but the work force contracted.

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Signs of Hope in Jobs Report; Unemployment Drops to 8.6%

WASHINGTON — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose for the second straight week, a sign the hiring market is recovering at a slow and uneven pace. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 402,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Applications had been below 400,000 for three straight weeks. Read full article > >

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More people seek unemployment aid for 2nd straight week, a sign the job market remains weak

WASHINGTON — Consumers paid less for gas, cars and computers last month, as overall prices dropped for the first time since June. Inflation is easing after prices rose sharply this spring. The Labor Department said Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index dropped 0.1 percent in October. A steep drop in gas prices led the decline. Food prices rose, but at the slowest pace this year. Read full article > >

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Consumers paid less for gas and cars in October, pushing down overall prices

WASHINGTON — The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level since April, a sign that employers could be stepping up hiring. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications dropped to a seasonally adjusted 390,000. It was the third decline in four weeks. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 400,000, also the lowest point since April. Read full article > >

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Applications for unemployment benefits fall to 390,000, lowest level since April

WASHINGTON — The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, a sign that the job market remains weak. Weekly applications increased by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 401,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The modest gain comes after applications plummeted by 33,000 in the previous week. The drop partly reflected technical difficulties with the department’s seasonal adjustment process. Read full article > >

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More people applied for unemployment benefits last week to leave figures high

Weekly applications for unemployment benefits dropped sharply to a seasonally-adjusted 391,000, according to figures released by the Labor Department Thursday. That is 37,000 fewer claims than were filed the previous week and is the lowest number since April 2. Though that could be an encouraging sign for the nation’s ailing economy and its soaring unemployment rate, a Labor Department spokesman cautioned that some of the upturn may be a result of technical challenges associated with the seasonal adjustment of the data. Read full article > >

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Jobless claims drop to lowest level since April

Unemployment in the Washington region rose to 6 percent in August from 5.9 percent the month before, according to a Labor Department report released Wednesday, putting the brakes on a recovery that had spurred widespread hiring across sectors this year. The region gained a net of 100 jobs from August 2010 to August 2011. Although modest, it’s a major improvement from the net loss of 11,100 jobs from July to July. Still, during the 12-month period ending in August, the region dropped 2,600 jobs in its traditionally most reliable sector: the federal government. Read full article > >

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D.C.-area unemployment rises to 6% in August