Steady job gains seen bolstering US economy

American employers likely hired at a moderate pace in March, a sign the economy was gathering momentum even as Washington stepped up an austerity drive by enacting painful spending cuts.

The economy probably added 200,000 jobs last month, with the jobless rate steady at 7.7 per cent, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

That would mark the fourth time in five months that nonfarm payrolls increased by least 200,000, a robust trend considering the drag on the economy from a January tax increase and federal budget cuts that began in March.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1207621/steady-job-gains-seen-bolstering-us-economy