Total U.S. jobs

The U.S. economy added 228,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in March, outpacing expectations and signaling continued momentum in the labor market. The gain came in well above the consensus estimate of 140,000, underscoring the economy’s underlying strength in March. However, job gains for January and February were revised downward by a combined 48,000, bringing those monthly totals to 111,000 and 117,000, respectively.

Despite the revisions, March marked the 51st consecutive month of job growth—a testament to the enduring resilience of the U.S. labor market. Total nonfarm employment now stands at a record 159.4 million, surpassing the pre-pandemic peak from February 2020 by 7.11 million jobs. That represents a 4.7% increase over the past five years.

The unemployment rate ticked up slightly in March, rising from 4.1% to 4.2%, though it remains low by historical standards. The number of unemployed individuals climbed to a four-month high, increasing modestly from 7.05 million to 7.08 million. At the same time, the number of employed individuals grew from 163.31 million to 163.51 million—just shy of the January record high of 163.90 million. Meanwhile, labor force participation showed a modest rebound, rising from 62.4%—its lowest point since January 2023—to 62.5%.  

Average hourly earnings for private-sector production and nonsupervisory workers rose by 0.2% in March—the slowest monthly gain in nearly a year. On an annual basis, wages were up 3.9%, marking a solid rate of growth, though it was the slowest year-over-year increase since May 2021. Even so, labor cost pressures have eased considerably from their peak in March 2022, when wage growth hit 7.0%.