US employers add surprisingly strong 303K jobs in March as unemployment ticks lower

Published

1 year ago

April 5, 2024

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US employers collectively increased their payrolls by a hefty 303,000 in March — the fifth consecutive month of hotter-than-expected job gains.

The monthly figure blew past the 200,000 job gains economists expected.

Though a strong job market historically keeps interest rate levels elevated, Wall Street has been wary of making predictions off of initial figures in recent months, as the Labor Department has made some drastic revisions.

February’s surprisingly strong 275,000 gains were revised down to 270,000, and the Labor Department steeply revised January’s blockbuster 353,000 additional roles down to 256,000 on Friday.

Last month, the federal agency also said that Decembers hefty gain of 333,000 that was initially reported was also slashed to 290,000.

For all of 2023, revisions took 520,000 roles off of initial estimates, countering a historical trend where final numbers are typically higher than first readings, according to CNBC.

The closely watched jobs report also showed that the unemployment ticked lower, from 3.9% in February to 3.8% in March.

When employment rate initially edged up from the 3.7% rate it previoulsy sat at for three consecutive months, economists said that it boosted the Federal Reserve’s case for rate cuts to occur in June as widely expected.

Fed officials have kept interest rates at their current 22-year high, between 5.25% and 5.5%, since their July 2023 policy meeting.

Stubbornly high interest rates have made it more difficult than ever for Americans to afford a home as mortgage rates have also skyrocketed since the pandemic as it has become more expensive for banks to borrow capital.

According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate stands at a whopping 6.82% at the time fo writing — nearly double what it was four years ago.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has argued that interest rates can start to come down once inflation eases up.

Given the strength of the economy and progress on inflation so far, we have time to let the incoming data guide our decisions on policy, Powell said during prepared remarks at the Stanford Graduate School of Business on Wednesday.

Central bankers are making decisions meeting by meeting, he added.

But per the latest Consumer Price Index which tracks changes in the costs of everyday goods and services US inflation rose a stiffer-than-expected 3.2% in February.

Yet another yearly increase in consumer prices means that the CPI reading has yet to drop on a yearly basis since President Joe Bidens term began in January 2021.

The closest the economy has gotten to a yearly decrease since Biden took office was in July 2022, when the inflation rate remain unchanged, at a sky-high 8.5%.

On a monthly basis, prices also edged 0.4% in February, driven primarily by the indexes for shelter and gasoline, which contributed to more than 60% of the advance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Marchs CPI reading is set to be released on April 10.

Entertainment

MasterChef presenter John Torode sacked

Published

16 mins ago

July 15, 2025

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MasterChef presenter John Torode will no longer work on the show after an allegation he used an “extremely offensive racist term” was upheld, the BBC has said.

His co-host Gregg Wallace was also sacked last week after claims of inappropriate behaviour.

On Monday, Torode said an allegation he used racist language was upheld in a report into the behaviour of Wallace. The report found more than half of 83 allegations against Wallace were substantiated.

Torode, 59, insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident involving him and he “did not believe that it happened,” adding “racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment”.

In a statement on Tuesday, a BBC spokesperson said the allegation “involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace”.

The claim was “investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm Lewis Silkin”, they added.

“The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously,” the spokesperson said.

“We will not tolerate racist language of any kind… we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken.

“John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”

Australian-born Torode started presenting MasterChef alongside Wallace, 60, in 2005.

A statement from Banijay UK said it “takes this matter incredibly seriously” and Lewis Silkin “substantiated an accusation of highly offensive racist language against John Torode which occurred in 2018”.

“This matter has been formally discussed with John Torode by Banijay UK, and whilst we note that John says he does not recall the incident, Lewis Silkin have upheld the very serious complaint,” the TV production company added.

“Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef.”

Earlier, as the BBC released its annual report, its director-general Tim Davie addressed MasterChef’s future, saying it can survive as it is “much bigger than individuals”.

Speaking to BBC News after Torode was sacked, Mr Davie said a decision is yet to be taken over whether an unseen MasterChef series – filmed with both Wallace and Torode last year – will be aired.

“It’s a difficult one because… those amateur chefs gave a lot to take part – it means a lot, it can be an enormous break if you come through the show,” he added.

“I want to just reflect on that with the team and make a decision, and we’ll communicate that in due course.”

Mr Davie refused to say what the “seriously racist term” Torode was alleged to have used but said: “I certainly think we’ve drawn a line in the sand.”

In 2022, Torode was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to food and charity.

Politics

Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

Published

16 mins ago

July 15, 2025

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Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

Programmable regulation could be the solution to legacy regulatory frameworks struggling to keep pace with DeFi’s rapidly evolving ecosystems. Embedding compliance in code can bring legal clarity, reduce risk and foster innovation in DeFi.

UK