Payrolls in the U.S. grew by more than expected to close the first quarter to bring the unemployment rate down to a two-year low as manufacturing continued strong growth, according to Bloomberg. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers boosted payrolls by 216,000 during March, outpacing economists’ forecast for 190,000 new jobs and accelerating from the revised payroll growth of 194,000 posted the month prior. The strong gain in jobs also came with a decrease in the unemployment rate, which inched lower by 0.1% in March to 8.8%, marking the lowest level since March 2009.

Stephan Stanley of Pierpont Securities as viewed the report “indicative of continuing improvement in the labor market,” but added, “It’s not a blow-out number.” Private hiring was rose by 230,000 in March after a 240,000 increase the month prior, which is the largest two-month gain in five years. A separate report from the Institute for Supply Management found the manufacturing index inched only 0.2 points lower to 61.2 in March from the seven-year high posted in February, indicating that growth in the sector remains robust. The production sub-index added almost three points to reach 69, which is a seven-year high, although new orders dropped lower.

Click here to read the story on payrolls from Bloomberg News.

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