Unemployment rate stays steady in March

The employment rate saw little change in March as it hovered around 4.7 percent, the U.S Department of Labor reports. The service-providing sector saw widespread growth, the report adds.

The number of unemployed workers stayed steady at 7 million, according to the report.

Not everything remained unchanged. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 3 cents in March to $16.49. This follows gains of 5 cents and 6 cents in January and February, respectively.

Average weekly earnings increased by .2 percent over the month to $557.36. Average weekly earnings are 3.7 percent more than they were a year ago, while average hourly earnings have increased by 3.4 percent in the past year.

Starting last October, the Department of Labor has also been keeping track of the employment status of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. About half the evacuees surveyed were back in the labor force in March, and the same amount were back in their pre-Katrina residences.

The unemployment rate for those identified as evacuees was 16.5 percent. The rate was much higher for evacuees who were not living in their homes (34.7 percent), the report says.

The data collected does not account for all evacuees. Those living in hotels and shelters were not included in the survey.