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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. non-farm payrolls, a key measure of the economy's health, rose in March for only the third time since recession struck in late 2007 as the private sector stepped up hiring at the fastest pace in almost 3 years.

Employers added 162,000 jobs last month, the Labour Department said on Friday, leaving the unemployment rate steady at 9.7 percent for the third straight month. The payrolls increase was the largest since March 2007, and also reflected temporary hiring for the census.