As of March, the US labor market remained on solid footing: Job gains were broad-based and better than expected and participation picked up.
However, a lot has changed for the US economy — and the world — in the first few days of April. President Donald Trump levied sweeping and steep tariffs against American trading partners, a move that sent markets plunging and triggered a trade war.
“Liberation Day” and its aftermath were not reflected in the March jobs data released Friday. However, the employment snapshot provided a critical look as to how the labor market is holding up as Trump slashes federal spending (and jobs) and how it could weather increasingly turbulent times.
The US economy added a stronger-than-expected 228,000 jobs in March, a significant increase from February’s downwardly revised gains of 117,000, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. The robust gains notched in March were likely a rebound after wildfires and bad weather depressed job growth in January and February (which were revised down by a combined 48,000 jobs).
The unemployment rate in March ticked higher to 4.2% from 4.1%, driven higher in part by new entrants to the labor market.