Employers added jobs in March at a much stronger pace than expected, a sign that the labor market remained strong despite economic uncertainty and market turbulence.
The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, well above the gain of 140,000 jobs economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see.
That was more than the 117,000 jobs added in February.
The report offers relief about the labor market given recent concerns about growth, said Sarah House, senior economist for Wells Fargo. Still, she added that “while hiring was holding up in March, there’s a lot of new challenges ahead.”
The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs figures, ticked up to 4.2%.
The Department of Government Efficiency’s federal-government layoffs were 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 counted as employed.
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