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Unemployment Falls to 2-Year Low: 8.8%

It's fallen full point over past four months, the sharpest drop since 1983
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 1, 2011 7:53 AM CDT
Unemployment Falls to 2-Year Low: 8.8%
In this Oct. 5, 2010 file photo, unemployed workers fill out applications during a job fair in Rockford, Ill.   (AP Photo/Jim Prisching, file)

The unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8% in March and companies added workers at the fastest two-month pace since before the recession began. The Labor Department says the economy added 216,000 new jobs last month, offsetting layoffs at local governments. Factories, retailers, education, health care, and an array of professional and financial services expanded payrolls.

Private employers, the backbone of the economy, drove nearly all of the gains. They added 230,000 jobs last month, on top of 240,000 in February. It was the first time private hiring topped 200,000 in back-to-back months since 2006—more than a year before the recession started. The unemployment rate, which dipped from 8.9% in February, has fallen a full percentage point over the last four months, the sharpest drop since 1983. (More jobs stories.)

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