By Brai Odion-Esene

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Senior officials within the Obama administration
sounded an upbeat note Friday following the release of a positive
employment report for March but said more effort is needed on job
creation to deal with an unemployment rate that is still too high.

“Today we received further news that the labor market is continuing
to stabilize and that job growth is returning,” Alan Krueger, chief
economist for the U.S. Treasury said. Christina Romer, chair of the
Council of Economic Advisers, said, “Today’s employment report shows
continued signs of gradual labor market healing.

However, while the news of job gains in March is welcome, “it is
obvious that the American labor market remains severely distressed,” she
added in statement following the release of the jobs report.

Romer warned that it will take sustained, robust employment growth
to bring the unemployment rate down. “Further targeted actions to spur
private sector job creation are critically needed to ensure a more
rapid, widespread recovery,” she said.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in March, and the
unemployment rate held at 9.7%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported Friday. Temporary help services and health care continued to
add jobs over the month. Employment in federal government also rose,
partly reflecting the hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010.
Employment continued to decline in financial activities and in
information.

Although a third of March’s job gain was due to the hiring of
48,000 workers by the Census Bureau, Krueger noted positive job growth
in many private sector industries. In total, private sector jobs rose by
123,000 in March. He also pointed out that with revisions to past
months, March was the third straight month with positive job growth in
the private sector.

Krueger noted the 15,000 and 17,000 increases in construction and
manufacturing jobs, respectively, as positive signs, adding that the
steady rise in the hiring of temporary help (up about 40,000 in March)
“is likely a precursor to more permanent hiring in other sectors.”

The unemployment, however, is still “unacceptably high” Krueger
said. But the 264,000 rise in household employment and the rise in the
labor force of almost 400,000 are the kinds of signs one would expect as
the recovery proceeds.

“We can expect the labor force to rise as confidence that jobs can
be found begins to rise,” he said.

He also told reporters that while the unemployment rate has stayed
at 9.7% for the last three months, he could not say if it has peaked.
“The administration’s forecast is for the unemployment rate to remain
stubbornly high.”

Krueger warned that recoveries do not move in straight lines and
despite the marked increase in jobs, “We can expect further bumps along
the road to recovery.”

Romer echoed this sentiment, saying, “While this is the most
positive jobs report we have had in three years, there will likely be
bumps in the road ahead. The monthly employment and unemployment numbers
are volatile and subject to substantial revision.”

Overall, March employment figures confirm that the policies of the
Obama administration are helping to improve the jobs picture, Krueger
said, while showing how much damage the recession has caused.

“It is essential that we continue our efforts to move in the right
direction and generate steady, strong job gains,” Romer said.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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