UNITED STATES—The employment rate in the United States is at its lowest in almost 50 years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a monthly report showed a continued growth in the labor market. The month of March showed a continued growth for 102 consecutive months.

Information from the US Department of Labor shows that initial unemployment claims dropped to 196,000 for the week ending April 6.

Job gains rose up by 13,000 in February, and revised, up by 1,000 to a total of 14,000. There has been increase of 5.5 million since Donald Trump was elected into office.

The White House noted on its website that the month of March saw the largest growth in the education and health care industries which added over 70,000 jobs.

The manufacturing industry added an additional 480,000 jobs since Trump was elected to office and over 209,000 jobs in the last 12 months.

Employment projections show which occupations are growing the fastest and which are adding the newest jobs. Video footage highlights occupations that require a Bachelor’s Degree and which require postsecondary education, such as an associates degree or a certificate.  More information can be found at www.bls.gov.

The average nominal earnings have also increased by 3.2 percent in the past 12 months.

The labor force participation rate tracks how many people are actually looking for work. which has gone down by 0.2 percent to 63 percent. This is 0.3 percent above the rate it was in November 2016.