The unemployment rate has declined a full percentage point since November 2010. | AP Photos, Reuters Unemployment falls to two-year low

The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent in March, from 8.9 percent in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday.

The gains tracked with the optimistic expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had predicted an expansion of 180,000 to 200,000 jobs.


Total nonfarm payrolls rose 216,000 last month, driven by private-sector growth of 230,000 jobs. Services, which include health care, hospitality and finance, added 199,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate has declined a full percentage point since November 2010, helping to shape a narrative of an economy in recovery. But the year’s first quarter has added uncertainty to that picture — an earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan has threatened automotive and electronics industry supply chains and continued unrest in the Middle East has driven a spike in oil prices.

The employment impacts of those forces remain uncertain — employment movement lags shifts in demand because employers ask staff to work overtime, or fewer hours before making layoffs or new hires.

Speaking Friday at a UPS plant in Landover, Md., President Barack Obama called the numbers a sign of “real strength.”

“The unemployment rate has now fallen a full point in the last four months,” he said. “The last time that happened was during the recovery in 1984, where we saw such a significant drop in the unemployment rate.”

Leaders on Capitol Hill were quick to respond to the news by pushing their favored policies.

House Speaker John Boehner welcomed the jobs news, but cautioned that Washington “needs to do more to end the uncertainty plaguing job creators.”

That, he said in a statement, “means getting control of government spending, ending the threat of tax hikes, removing regulatory obstacles to job growth and approving stalled trade agreements that would open new markets for American exports.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor called the report “an encouraging sign” and called on lawmakers to continue work on “comprehensive reform of our tax code, reducing trade barriers, fixing our faulty patent approval system and reforming our immigration system.”

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi touted her record as speaker in response.

“For two years, President Obama and congressional Democrats took bold steps to get our economy back on track — and today’s report is a sign that our actions have moved our country in the right direction,” she said. “But Republicans want to take us in the wrong direction — passing legislation that would destroy more than 1 million jobs.”

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer shared Pelosi’s view.

“Unfortunately, through 13 weeks in the House majority, Republicans have yet to even consider a single job-creating bill,” he said in a release. “It’s even more worrisome that Republicans passed a spending bill has the wrong priorities and would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to a wide range of nonpartisan observers.”

In the Senate, Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer urged a deal on the budget.

“Too many Americans are still looking for work. But the economic picture is slowly improving,” Schumer said in a statement. “This sign of jobs growth shows the president’s economic plan is starting to work. We should stick with it, and quickly reach a budget deal to avert a government shutdown that would risk these fragile gains.”

Jobs growth stalled in the nation’s construction sector, hit hard by a recession that began with the collapse of the housing market. Construction shed 1,000 jobs in March.

Manufacturing added 17,000 jobs last month, compared with 32,000 new jobs in February.

Government employment shrank by 14,000 jobs as states and municipalities continue to grapple with widespread fiscal crises. In February, the sector lost 46,000 jobs.

Friday’s report also revised upward estimates released in early March of February job growth. That month, nonfarm employment rose 194,000; the Bureau previously reported that 192,000 jobs were added.