Unemployment rate remains unchanged

The U.S. unemployment remained held steady through March at 5.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate previously was 5.5 percent in February and 5.7 percent in January, the lowest unemployment rate to start a year since 2008. During the past three months, job gains have averaged 197,000 per month.

The static nature of this month’s rate should not overshadow the hundreds of thousands of jobs added in March. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 126,000, with the biggest gains seen for professional and business services, healthcare, and retail.

Employment in professional and business services rose by 40,000. The strongest employment rates within this sector came from arc