WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that 178,000 jobs were added in March. The overall unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in March from 4.4% in February. This jobs gain was the strongest in nearly 15 months and significantly beat economists’ expectations of between 60,000–70,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate for women fell slightly to 4.0% from 4.1%. Part of the decline in the unemployment rate is due to the overall labor force participation falling slightly to 61.9% in March from 62.0% in February.
The overall decrease in labor force participation is in line with women’s labor force participation, which fell to 58.4% in March from 58.5% in February. Meanwhile, men’s labor force participation fell slightly to 69.4% in March from 69.6% February. Both rates for men and women are still below pre-pandemic levels.
March saw strong growth in health care, leisure and hospitality, and goods-producing. Meanwhile, financial activities lost 15,000 jobs, and the government lost 8,000 jobs.
The University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer sentiment fell to 53.3 in March, down from 56.6 in the prior month amid uncertainty around fuel prices, partially related to the Iranian military conflict.
Carrie Sheffield, senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity, issued the following statement:
“America’s robust March labor market is a positive sign for our economy, providing stability amid affordability concerns. We expect strong economic growth in April as Americans file their taxes and receive an estimated boost of around $2,000 per family, thanks to the tax reforms passed by conservatives in Congress and signed into law by President Trump.
“Washington has undertaken positive steps to continue to liberate the labor market through smart deregulation—especially President Trump’s powerful requirement that for every one regulation promulgated, 10 are removed. This frees up revenue for businesses to reinvest in their workforces by hiring or raising wages.
“We look forward to the continued progress toward tax and regulatory reforms that will enable job and wage growth, thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut (One Big, Beautiful Bill Act), which made permanent the expiring provisions under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“These efforts bear fruit and continue to improve job creation for American families in the months ahead.”
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