document: Jobless rate down to 8.8 % as unemployment hits a two-year low , but labor participation still down The nation 's unemployment rate dropped in March to its lowest level in two years , brightening the economic outlook as major companies plan to add more jobs . More hiring cut the unemployment rate to 8.8 % as employers added 216,000 jobs last month , the Labor Department said . Factories , retailers , the education and health care sectors , and professional and financial services all expanded their payrolls . Those gains offset layoffs by local governments , construction and telecommunications . The private sector added more than 200,000 jobs for a second straight month , the first time that 's happened since 2006 - more than a year before the recession started . '' `` It 's certainly indicative of continuing improvement in the labor market , with two months in a row of really solid private payrolls , '' '' said Stephen Stanley , chief economist at Pierpont Securities . '' `` It 's not a blowout number , but all in all , it 's a good report . '' '' The improved outlook propelled the Dow to a 2011 high in early trading . Stocks then pared their gains as oil prices climbed to 30-month highs . The Dow closed up 57 points , or 0.46 % , to 12,376.72 . The new figures 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 and Ford , 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 . 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 . Still , the job gains have n't led many people who stopped looking for work during the recession to start again . The number of people who are either working or seeking a job remains surprisingly low for this stage of the recovery . Fewer than two-thirds of American adults are either working or looking for work - the lowest participation rate in 25 years . Just 64.2 % 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 . 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 . '' `` It is always possible that as the job market improves , people will start looking again and the unemployment rate could go up , '' '' said economist Bill Cheney of John Hancock Financial Services . '' `` But the normal pattern is once it starts coming down as rapidly as it has over the last few months , it keeps on going down . '' ''
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