Mid-March Unemployment Data Improves — Gallup

Gallup’s unadjusted US unemployment rate for mid-March fell from 9.1% in mid-February to 8.6%. The official seasonally adjusted US unemployment rate for February is 8.3%.

The Gallup survey also indicates that the number of Americans working part-time but wanting full-time employment also dropped, from 10% in February to 9.8% in March. The survey also reported a drop in underemployment, which Gallup defines as the combined percentage of unemployed workers and the percentage working part-time but wanting full-time employment. Underemployment fell from 19.1% in mid-February to 18.6% in mid-March.

Gallup concluded:

Gallup finds modest increases in job creation and in the percentage of Americans who say now is a good time to find a quality job. These marginal improvements, along with the moderate expansion of the overall U.S. economy, tend to support Gallup’s finding that the unadjusted unemployment rate showed modest improvement in mid-March.

Gallup’s press release is here.