The United States labour market added 178,000 jobs in March, far more than expected, rebounding from February’s major losses.
March’s nonfarm payrolls increase was more than three times the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 59,000. The U.S. had lost 133,000 jobs in February.
“In March, job gains occurred in health care, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing. Federal government employment continued to decline,” wrote the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The healthcare sector continued to add jobs during the month, with gains of 76,000. This was driven by an increase of 54,000 in ambulatory healthcare services employment, which the BLS credited to physicians’ office workers returning from a strike.
Construction employment was up by 26,000 jobs. The transportation and warehousing industry added 21,000 jobs due to a 20,000 surge among couriers and messengers.
While February’s reading was revised down by 41,000 to a loss of 133,000, January’s number was revised upwards by 34,000 to a gain of 160,000.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.3%, per the BLS, down slightly from February’s 4.4%. The percentage of working-age Americans in the labour force dropped to 61.9%, the lowest since November 2021.
Average hourly wages increased by 0.2% during March and by 3.5% year-over-year, below estimates of 0.3% and 3.7% growth.
Traders forecast a 98% chance that interest rates would remain unchanged at the Federal Reserve’s April meeting, according to CME FedWatch, as the central bank continues to monitor employment data.
“For the time being we can put the narrative to bed about the labor market going into retrograde,” said Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steve Sosnick. “If you’re hoping for cuts, this report does nothing to improve your hopes.”
