Hiring jumps in March as employers add 228,000 jobs, exceeding expectations

Hiring surged in March as the labor market blew past Wall Street’s predictions, defying uncertainty over President Trump’s tariff hikes, federal worker layoffs and spending cuts.

U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs in March, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number marked a major increase in hiring from February, when 117,000 jobs were added. It also soared past economists’ predictions of 130,000 new jobs added to the payroll.

The unemployment rate also stands at a historically low 4.2%, only a slight percentage point higher than the 4.1% added in February.

“Great job numbers. Far better than expected. It’s already working. Hang tough. We can’t lose,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the job numbers were proof that the “the Golden Age of America is on its way!”

“The economy is starting to roar with a strong 228,000 jobs added in the month of March — well ahead of the market’s expectation. There was also a sharp increase in transportation, construction and warehousing employment. The president’s push to onshore jobs here in the United States is working,” she said.

Economists cautioned that the jobs market is a snapshot of the past and the U.S. is headed to uncertainty once the impact of the tariffs is felt.

“This jobs report isn’t likely to be seen as more important than the trade war,” Kathy Jones, fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab, wrote on X. 

In an analyst report, Goldman Sachs offered a similar view. 

“Today’s better than expected jobs report will help ease fears of an immediate softening in the US labor market. However, this number has become a side dish with the market just focusing on the entree: tariffs,” the report said.

Friday’s report did factor in the federal layoffs, but the data was collected before President Trump’s latest tariff hikes. However, the report does provide a snapshot of how employers have responded to some of Mr. Trump’s earlier tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico.

Some economists have predicted the tariffs could increase the likelihood of a recession by driving up prices, halting business activity and risking layoffs. Wilmington Trust on Thursday said the chances of a recession increased to 50% from 40% after Mr. Trump’s tariff announcement Wednesday.

They showed that the Department of Government Efficiency’s federal government layoffs were only 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 considered as employed.

The overall rise in unemployment likely reflects people heading back into the workforce in search of jobs because the labor force participation rate also ticked up slightly.

Health care, social assistance and the transportation sector all fueled growth.

Stock futures were down sharply before the report, pushed low over concerns about Mr. Trump’s tariff policies. They remained down even after the jobs report was released.