The job market got some good news on Friday when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 308,000 new jobs were created in the U.S. in March. However, the bureau also reported that unemployment rose slightly to 5.7 percent last month, mainly due to a significant number of workers re-entering the work force.

The rise in unemployment comes despite March's significant job growth, the largest increase in four years. The report notes that 179,000 Americans have begun seeking work, pushing up the unemployment rate. Some of these people, discouraged by bleak prospects and long stretches without any work opportunities, had opted out of the job search altogether, so the decision to renew their efforts could indicate a boost in worker confidence about the economy's recovery and growth. The spike comes at an opportune time for President Bush's re-election campaign, in which the economy has featured prominently.

Bucking another alarming trend, manufacturing jobs remained stable, after more than three years of consistent losses. Only the information sector shed jobs in March, posting a total drop-off of 1,000 positions and suffering hits in telecommunications and the motion-picture and sound-recording industries.

The unemployment rate -- though up from January and February 2004 lows of 5.6 percent as a result of the expanded labor force -- still remained well below the June 2003 high of 6.4 percent.

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