document: Jobless rate falls to 8.8 % Washington • The nation 's unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in two years in March , and the outlook is brightening as major companies plan to add more jobs . Increased hiring cut the unemployment rate to 8.8 percent - an encouraging sign for the unemployed and for President Barack Obama 's re-election prospects . Still , the job gains have n't led many people who stopped looking for work during the recession to start again . Fewer than two-thirds of American adults are either working or looking for work - the lowest participation rate in 25 years . The economy added 216,000 jobs last month , the government said Friday . Factories , retailers , the education and health care sectors , and professional and financial services all expanded payrolls . Those gains offset layoffs by local governments , construction and telecommunications . The improved outlook propelled the Dow Jones industrial average to a 2011 high in early trading . Stocks then pared their gains as oil prices climbed to 30-month highs . The Dow closed up about 57 points . The private sector added more than 200,000 jobs for a second straight month . It was the first time that 's happened since 2006 - more than a year before the recession started . And it could mark a turning point in job creation . America 's largest companies plan to step up hiring in the next six months , a March survey of CEOs found . Google , Siemens Corp. and Ford Motor Co. , among others , have said they plan to add workers . Economists expect the stronger hiring to endure throughout the year , producing a net gain of about 2.5 million jobs for 2011 . Even so , that would make up for only a small portion of the 7.5 million jobs wiped out during the recession . The economy must average up to 300,000 new jobs a month to significantly lower unemployment . Story continues below The unemployment rate has fallen a full percentage point since November , the sharpest four-month drop since 1983 . Stepped-up hiring is the main reason . But a more sobering factor is that the number of people who are either working or seeking a job remains surprisingly low for this stage of the recovery . People without jobs who are n't looking for one are n't counted as unemployed . Once they start looking again , they 're classified as unemployed , and the unemployment rate can go back up . That can happen even if the economy is adding jobs . Just 64.2 percent of adults have a job or are looking for one - the lowest participation rate since 1984 . The number has been shrinking for four years . It suggests many people remain discouraged about their job prospects even as hiring is picking up . A falling unemployment rate is vital for Obama , who is 19 months from a re-election vote and facing a lineup of potential Republican challengers who will make his stewardship of the economy the dominant issue . President Ronald Reagan had low job-approval ratings in his first term , when unemployment surged to 10.4 percent . By Election Day 1984 , the unemployment rate had sunk to 7.2 percent . Reagan won a landslide victory . '' `` Although we got good news today , we have to keep the momentum going , '' '' Obama told workers at a UPS shipping facility in suburban Maryland . '' `` There are still millions of Americans out there that are looking for a job that pays the bills . '' '' Just 15 percent of Americans surveyed in mid-March said the economy had improved in the past month , according to an Associated Press-GfK poll . That 's a sharp decline from January , when 30 percent said so . And 28 percent said the economy would worsen . It 's the largest percentage to say so since the question was first asked in December 2009 . Copyright 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune . All rights reserved . This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten or redistributed .
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