U.S. employers added a surprising 228,000 jobs last month, as the American labor market continues to show resilience as President Donald Trump wages trade wars, purges federal workers and deports immigrants working in the United States illegally. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%. The hiring numbers were up from 117,000 in February and were nearly double the 130,000 that economists had expected. President Donald Trump’s trade wars — including the sweeping “Liberation Day’’ import taxes he announced Wednesday — threaten to drive up prices, disrupt commerce and invite retaliatory tariffs from America’s trading partners.
The United States added 228,000 jobs in March despite nearly 4,000 federal workers losing their positions, a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates. In Friday's report, the BLS reported a slight increase in the unemployment rate from 4.1% in February to 4.2% in March. The U.S. government has been in the midst of shrinking its workforce after President Donald Trump took office in January. But the report notes that federal employees who have been placed on paid leave or severance are counted as employed.
The report offers relief about the labor market given recent concerns about growth, said Sarah House, senior economist for Wells Fargo. Still, she added that “while hiring was holding up in March, there’s a lot of new challenges ahead.” The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs figures, ticked up to 4.2%. The Department of Government Efficiency’s federal-government layoffs were a modest drag on payrolls. Federal government employment declined by just 4,000 in March, after dropping 11,000 in February. Employees who were on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance were counted as employed.
