The major asset classes generally posted respectable gains in March, although red ink spoiled the party for foreign developed-market stocks and REITs. U.S. bonds overall managed to rise, but just barely, based on the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, which inched higher by less than 0.1% last month. Inflation-linked Treasuries, however, jumped 1%–the third consecutive monthly gain for TIPS and the highest return since last October, as per the Barclays U.S. Treasury TIPS Index.
Daily Archives: April 1, 2011
Private Sector Jobs Rise by 230k In March
In line with expectations, private-industry nonfarm payrolls rose 230,000 in March, down slightly from the 240,000 net gain posted in February, the Labor Department reports. A respectable rise, to be sure. All the more so since the job growth for March represents the 13th straight month of improvement for the private sector. In addition, last month’s advance is near the highest level since the labor market started growing again in early 2010. But while those are all encouraging signs, we’re still left with the fact that job growth of 200,000-plus a month isn’t helping lower the still-elevated jobless rate. Unemployment was virtually unchanged in March, inching down to 8.8% from 8.9% in February.