U.S. unemployment jumped in March

Washington -- The unemployment rate jumped from 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent in March on a payroll reduction of 80,000 jobs, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

The department now counts 7.8 million people as unemployed, an increase of 434,000 during the month.

The unemployment rate rose equally for men and women -- to 4.6 percent. The rate was 6.9 percent for Hispanics, 4.5 percent for blacks and whites and 3.6 percent for Asians.

As a measure of the slowing economy, the number of persons unemployed because they lost jobs jumped by 300,000 to 4.2 million, an increase of 914,000 from a year ago, the report said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.