The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released new employment data for March 2025. The report showed a significant increase in non-farm payrolls, with 228,000 jobs added in the month, reflecting improved economic conditions. However, the unemployment rate remained at 4.2%, an indicator of relative stability in the labor market.
General Unemployment and Employment Statistics
Despite the job gains, the unemployment rate remained at 4.2%, with 7.1 million people unemployed. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range between 4.0% and 4.2% since May 2024. There was little change in unemployment rates among different groups, such as adult men (3.8%) and adult women (3.7%), while teens recorded the highest unemployment rate at 13.7%. The data shows that the number of long-term unemployed, those who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, reached 1.5 million, constituting 21.3% of the total unemployed. The labor force participation rate also remained steady at 62.5%, while the employment-to-population ratio remained stable at 59.9%, reflecting stability in some indicators.
On the other hand, the number of people working part-time for economic reasons remained unchanged at 4.8 million. These people prefer full-time work but work part-time due to reduced hours or because they cannot find full-time jobs.
Employment Growth in Various Sectors
March 2025 saw an increase in job numbers in some key sectors, reflecting a relative improvement in the US economy. For example, the healthcare sector added 54,000 new jobs in March, consistent with the monthly increase in recent months.
Previous indicators have shown that the labor market is resilient, but the tariff moves raise the possibility that companies will hold back on hiring as they assess the new trade landscape.
Nevertheless, March figures indicated continued strength in the labor market, although the January and February figures saw significant downward revisions.
Analyzing Salaries and Hours of Work
Regarding the social assistance sector, 24,000 new jobs were added in March, above the average monthly increase of 19,000. Individual and family services were the most significant sector to see significant gains, with 22,000 new jobs added.
The retail trade sector also saw a 24,000 increase in jobs in March, partly reflecting the return of workers who had been on strike, particularly in the food and beverage retail sector. Despite this improvement, the general merchandise trade sector saw a 5,000-job decline.
The transportation and warehousing sector also saw a 23,000-job gain, reflecting double the average annual increase of only 12,000. Courier and messenger services saw the largest increases, with 16,000 jobs added. In contrast, the trucking sector lost 10,000 jobs, while warehousing and storage employment declined by about 9,000.
The federal government lost 4,000 jobs in March, following a loss of 11,000 in February. It should be noted that employees on paid leave or receiving severance pay are counted among survey employees.
Regarding average earnings in the private non-farm sector, wages increased by 0.3% in March, with average hourly earnings rising to $36.00. Despite this slight increase, average earnings over the 12 months increased by 3.8%. Meanwhile, average earnings for non-supervisory workers in the private sector remained steady at $30.96 per hour.
Regarding hours worked, hours in the private non-farm sector were largely unchanged in March, with the average remaining at 34.2 hours per week.
Previous indications suggest the labor market is resilient.
Trump announced a flat 10% tariff on all of his trading partners, along with a wide range of so-called reciprocal tariffs, which have already drawn retaliatory responses from China and other countries. Wall Street has seen a heavy sell-off over the past two days, with stocks falling and investors turning to safe-haven fixed-income assets.
U.S. employment increased by 228,000 jobs in March, but the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 228,000 jobs in March, up from a revised 117,000 in February and better than the Dow Jones estimate of 140,000.
The health care sector was the most prominent growth sector, consistent with previous months. The sector added 54,000 jobs, roughly in line with its 12-month average. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% month-over-month, in line with expectations, while the annual rate was 3.8%, the lowest since July 2024.
The U.S. Labor Department said Friday that job growth was stronger than expected in March, providing at least temporary reassurance that the labor market is holding up.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 228,000 jobs during the month, up from 117,000 in February and better than the Dow Jones estimate of 140,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, above expectations of 4.1%, with the labor force participation rate also rising. Although the headline number beat estimates, the report comes against a highly uncertain backdrop following President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs this week, which intensified fears of a global trade war that could hurt economic growth.
The stock market reacted little to the report, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures retreating from their lows but still down more than 900 points, while Treasury yields remained sharply negative.
“Today’s better-than-expected jobs report will help ease fears of an immediate slowdown in the US labor market,” said Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector fixed income at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “However, this number has become a challenge, as the market focuses solely on the main issue: tariffs.”
