The number of unemployed rose 140 thousand from a month earlier to 1.70 million in March, and employment grew by 180 thousand to 67.32 million. The labor force went up 330 thousand to 69.06 million and those detached from the labor force fell 320 thousand to 41.82 million.
Youth unemployment rate, measuring job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old, increased to 3.6 percent in March from 3.4 percent in February. This was the highest reading since August last year when the rate was at 4.1 percent.
A year earlier, the unemployment rate was also at 2.5 percent.