U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs in March, but the national unemployment rate ticked up from 4.1% to 4.2%, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.
Hiring in March occurred at a faster pace than the average monthly gain of 158,000 over the last 12 months. Private sector employers added 209,000 jobs in March, while public sector employers added the remaining 19,000 jobs (mostly at the local government level).
The BLS also downwardly revised its preliminary jobs numbers reported previously for January and February collectively by -48,000. January’s jobs figure was revised downward from 125,000 to 111,000 and February’s was revised downward from 151,000 to 117,000, the BLS said.
The most significant job gains in March occurred in healthcare (+54,000), in social assistance (+24,000) and in transportation and warehousing (+23,000). Retail gained 24,000 jobs in March caused by a 21,000 gain among food and beverage retailers because of the return of striking workers. General merchandise retailers lost 5,000 jobs in March.
The federal government shed 4,000 jobs in March, following the loss of 11,000 federal jobs in February. The BLS report noted that federal employees who have lost their jobs and are still collecting severance pay are not yet counted among the unemployed.
Despite the federal job losses, public sector employment rose by 19,000 jobs overall in March because hiring increased by both state governments (+6,000) and local governments (+17,000).
Employment showed little change over the month of March in other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, information, financial activities, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and other sectors.
In March, average hourly earnings for all employees on private payrolls rose by 9 cents, or 0.3%, to $36.00. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8%.
The labor force participation rate, which captures the percentage of the working-age population that is employed or actively seeking a job, increased from 62.4% in February to 64.5% in March.
Despite the stronger than expected jobs report for March, the market selloff continued early Friday on Wall Street, two days after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imported goods from countries around the world. The jobs report is based on data reported as of March 15, and the new tariffs announced April 2 could have an inflationary impact that will slow economic growth in the year ahead, some economists have said.
