Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Only 120,000 jobs were added to the workforce in March, well below what economists had been expecting - and another example of how this recovery has been so tough to read. It's the first time since November that job growth fell below 200,000. The jobless rate, which is derived from a separate survey, inched down to 8.2 percent, from 8.3 percent the previous month. Here's the BLS release.
More by Mark Lacter:
American-US Air settlement with DOJ includes small tweak at LAXSocal housing market going nowhere fast
Amazon keeps pushing for faster L.A. delivery
Another rugged quarter for Tribune Co. papers
How does Stanford compete with the big boys?
Those awful infographics that promise to explain and only distort
Best to low-ball today's employment report
Further fallout from airport shootings
Crazy opening for Twitter*
Should Twitter be valued at $18 billion?
Recent Economy stories:
Those awful infographics that promise to explain and only distortBest to low-ball today's employment report
Exit interview with Port of L.A.'s executive director
L.A. developers relying on foreign investors bend a few rules
Holiday shopping: On your marks, get set... spend!
New at LA Observed
On the Politics Page
Go to Politics
Sign up for daily email from LA Observed
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.