U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs in March, a stronger-than-expected showing that signals ongoing labor market resilience even as concerns mount over President Donald Trump's escalating tariff policies. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The payroll figure surpassed the Dow Jones estimate of 140,000 and marked the highest monthly gain in 2025 to date. February's number was revised downward from 151,000 to 117,000, and January was adjusted from 125,000 to 111,000, resulting in a net two-month revision loss of 48,000.
Despite the upside surprise in hiring, the jobless rate's rise reflects a larger labor force participation rate, suggesting more Americans are actively seeking work. The report was released against the backdrop of rising fears of a global trade war following Trump's announcement earlier this week of a 10% flat tariff on all imports and a suite of reciprocal tariffs that have already triggered retaliatory measures from China.
"Today's better than expected jobs report will help ease fears of an immediate softening in the US labor market," said Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "However, this number has become a side dish with the market just focusing on the entrée: tariffs."
Wall Street markets appeared largely unmoved by the data. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures remained down by more than 1,000 points, while Treasury yields stayed sharply negative, as investors continued their pivot to safer assets amid trade policy uncertainty.
Health care led job growth in March, adding 54,000 positions, closely aligned with its 12-month average. Retail and social assistance each added 24,000 jobs, while transportation and warehousing contributed 23,000 new positions.
Federal government employment declined by 4,000, a continuation of a downward trend tied in part to layoffs connected with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Musk-backed initiative to shrink the federal workforce. Still, the BLS noted that "employees on paid leave or ongoing severance pay" are counted as employed, meaning the full scale of federal job losses may not yet be visible in monthly data.
According to a Thursday report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, DOGE-related layoffs now total over 275,000. The effects of those cuts are expected to become more evident in the coming months.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in March and are up 3.8% over the past 12 months. That pace represents a slight slowdown from February's year-over-year increase of 4%, potentially signaling easing wage pressure as employers monitor broader macroeconomic risks.
The March jobs report arrives just hours before Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver remarks-the first since Trump's latest tariff actions. The central bank is closely monitoring employment and inflation metrics to determine whether protectionist trade measures are beginning to impede U.S. economic growth.
