The March jobs report showed the US economy continued to add jobs at a strong pace last month while the unemployment rate ticked slightly higher.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed 228,000 new jobs were created in March, more than the 140,000 expected by economists, the 117,000 seen in February, and the 158,000 average monthly gain seen over the last year.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1% in the prior month. February’s monthly job gains were revised lower from a previous reading of 151,000.
Friday’s jobs report, however, has been overshadowed by Trump’s shocking tariff announcement on Wednesday, which sent markets reeling and raised fears the US economy could tip into recession.
Ahead of Friday’s report stock futures were already deeply in the red, adding to a $2.5 trillion wipeout from Thursday, after China said on Friday it will impose additional tariffs of 34% on all US products from April 10 — matching the extra 34% duties imposed by Trump on Wednesday.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
As of midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) pulled back 3.3%, or about 1,300 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) sank about 3.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dropped 3.8% after falling as much as 5%.
“[The March jobs report is] reassuring in the sense that, as we’ve been highlighting, we still have fairly robust fundamentals on the eve of what may be a significant economic slowdown resulting from the tariffs,” EY chief economist Gregory Daco told Yahoo Finance following the release.
The survey for Friday’s jobs report was conducted weeks before Trump announced his latest tariff plans.
“We’re not seeing any type of retrenchment before the implementation of these tariffs and before the massive surge in policy uncertainty which is feeding through to market volatility,” Daco said.
Wage growth, an important measure for gauging inflation pressures, rose 3.8% over the prior year in March, down from 4% in February.
On a monthly basis, wages increased 0.3%, up from 0.2% the prior month. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate rose to 62.5% from 62.4% in February.
Signs of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) federal job cuts emerged in March’s report. Federal government employment declined by 4,000 in March after falling by 11,000 in February.
“We’re on this deceleration path that’s led by lower income growth, which will feed into consumers being more judicious with their outlays,” Daco said. “And if you layer on top of that, additional tariffs, ongoing policy uncertainty, and very importantly, financial market stress that could lead to a catalyst for stronger slowdown in the economy.”
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