The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, far more than the 140,000 economists had expected. Unemployment ticked up slightly to 4.2% from 4.1% the month before.
Last month’s gains far outnumber the 117,000 roles added in February. Health care, transportation and warehousing were among the sectors that added roles in March, while federal hiring declined amid sweeping cuts to the government’s workforce.
The job data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a remarkably resilient U.S. economy, though it’s already a snapshot in time. After President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement Wednesday slammed into global markets, analysts say the labor market is likely to enter more uncertain terrain.
“This report isn’t likely to be seen as more important than the trade war,” Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab, wrote on X Friday morning following the BLS release.
Goldman Sachs analysts offered much the same take. “Today’s better than expected jobs report will help ease fears of an immediate softening in the US labor market. However, this number has become a side dish with the market just focusing on the entrée: tariffs,” they wrote Friday.
Stock futures continued to plummet before U.S. markets opened Friday morning, after notching their worst single trading day since the depths of the pandemic on Thursday.
The slight rise in unemployment likely reflects people heading back into the workforce in search of jobs. The labor force participation rate ticked up slightly as well, to 62.5%.