The Hindu Business Line : US March job growth at four-year high

IN a report that the White House has been very quick to take credit for, the Labour Department has said that employment rose in March at the fastest pace in four years as hiring of workers shot up in a wide range of industries.

The Labour Department has said that non-farm payrolls climbed 308,000 in March, the biggest gain since April 2000. Industry and economic analysts had been predicting that the rise in March would be only slightly over 100,000.

The news on the jobs front for March comes at a time when this Bush administration has been constantly battered on the economic front with the President getting poor marks in his ability to handle the economic situations. The Republican administration did not waste time in taking credit for the good news passing it off as showing that the tax cuts were helping the economy. And in West Virginia the President, Mr George W. Bush, used the occasion to make his usual pitch for permanency of tax cuts.

"The economy is growing and people are finding work. Today the statistics show that we added 308,000 new jobs for the month of March. We've added 759,000 jobs since August. The economy is strong; it is getting better... There are other things we need to do. We need to make sure that the tax cuts are permanent," Mr Bush remarked.

The Commerce Secretary, Mr Donald Evans, said that the "strongest job creation in four years shows that the President's tax relief efforts are furthering America's economy recovery." But Democrats, including the presumptive nominee to challenge the Republican incumbent this November, Mr John Kerry, stressed the need to keep the longer term in mind.

"After three years of punishing job losses, the one month job creation announced today is welcome news for America's workers. But for too many families living through the worst job recovery since the Great Depression has been and continues to be far too painful," Mr Kerry said in a statement.