U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs in March, surpassing the average monthly gain of 158,000 over the recent year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Despite the job growth, the national unemployment rate increased slightly from 4.1% to 4.2%, as reported by the BLS on Friday.
The private sector was responsible for most of the job additions with 209,000 positions, while public sector employers contributed 19,000 jobs, mainly at the local government level. There were revisions to previous reports for January and February, which saw a collective downward adjustment of 48,000 jobs. January's figures were revised from 125,000 to 111,000, and February's from 151,000 to 117,000.
Significant job gains in March were observed in healthcare, which added 54,000 positions, social assistance with 24,000, and transportation and warehousing with 23,000. The retail sector's 24,000-job gain was mainly due to a 21,000-increase among food and beverage retailers resulting from the return of striking workers. However, general merchandise retailers saw a loss of 5,000 jobs.
The federal government experienced a continued decline in jobs with a reduction of 4,000 positions in March, following an 11,000-job loss in February. The report highlights that federal employees receiving severance pay are not included in unemployment figures.
Public sector hiring saw an overall increase of 19,000 jobs in March due to state governments adding 6,000 jobs and local governments 17,000. Other sectors, including construction, wholesale trade, and financial activities, showed little change over the month.
In addition, average hourly earnings for all employees on private payrolls rose by 9 cents, reaching $36.00, marking a 0.3% increase. Over the year, there has been a 3.8% rise in average hourly earnings.
The labor force participation rate climbed from 62.4% in February to 64.5% in March, indicating more of the working-age population was employed or seeking jobs.
Although the jobs report for March was stronger than expected, the market selloff on Wall Street persisted following President Donald Trump's announcement of significant tariffs on imported goods. Economists have expressed concerns that these tariffs, announced on April 2, could lead to inflationary pressures, potentially slowing economic growth.
