For only the second time in the 27 month period since the start of the US recession, employers have added jobs. This is the news from the US Labor Department in its monthly payroll report for March released early Friday (April 2) morning.

It was expected that the economy would show a gain of around 190,000 jobs based on the Thomson Reuters survey of economists, but the report showed a slightly more moderate growth of 162,000.

Unemployment remained steady at 9.7 per cent during March. This was the third month in a row that unemployment was at that level. The plateau on unemployment is a good sign given that predictions late last year were that unemployment would top 10 per cent before leveling off.

The good news on the job front helped the dollar make gains against most major currencies in early morning New York trade. While the US bond and equities markets are closed for the Good Friday holiday, the dollar surged to nearly 94 yen and pushed back against both major European currencies among others.

The dollar has reached its new 2010 high against the Japanese currency and it has seen an increase of nearly six pips since the first week of March.

The Euro fell to $1.3536 shortly after the announcement after nearing $1.36 prior to the news. The Euro had been worth less than $1.33 one week ago before a recent correction against the greenback.

Similarly, the British Pound dipped to $1.5243 after the payroll report after it was right at the $1.53 level in the early morning. The Pound had been on a similar correction having gained nearly five pips from its $1.48 level about a week ago.

The likelihood that the Fed may step in sooner than letter to raise rates, despite continued commentary against it grows as the job market looks better. The job market has been the laggard in the overall positive sentiment for economic recovery.

More employed Americans means more dollars to spend and consumer spending accounts for about 70 per cent of the US economy. Plus, a strong dollar relative to global counterparts means more possibilities that US consumers and businesses would look to travel and invest strong dollars in other markets as well.