The US economy added 196,000 jobs in March, according to the preliminary numbers released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Economic Situation Report released on Friday.

March’s total nonfarm payroll employment is a sharp increase from the 33,000 jobs added in February. In the first quarter of 2019, employment has averaged 180,000 per month compared with 223,000 per month added in 2018.

The unemployment rate remained at 3.8 percent in March, while the number of unemployed persons was unchanged at 6.2 million. Job gains occurred in health care and in professional and technical services.

Total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised slightly, up from 311,000 to 312,000. February’s employment was also revised from 20,000 to 33,000. With these revisions, employment gains in January and February combined were 14,000 more than previously reported.

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