Job Creation Index For March Climbs To Highest Level In Eight Year History

The March job creation index climbed to plus 32, matching the highest level of its eight-year history. The increase from February's plus 29 reading is the first upward movement since May of last year, when the index first reached the plus 32 level.

The March job creation index for government workers was plus 27, an increase of two points from February's plus 25 and seven points from plus 20 a year ago. The nongovernment workers' index for March increased three points to plus 33.

Job creation indexes for all four major regions -- East, Midwest, South and West -- showed gains in March. The East, which has trailed the other three regions for most of the past three years, climbed closer to them with a four-point gain, from plus 26 to plus 30 in March. The other three regions each gained two points: the South, from plus 29 to plus 31; the Midwest, from plus 30 to plus 32; and the West, from plus 32 to plus 34.