As Wall Street crumbles from the impact of tariffs, cracks are still not visible in the U.S. labor market, which continues to show resilience and defies investor fears of economic weakness.
In March, nonfarm payrolls surged by 228,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The outcome is well above the three-month average of 195,000 and topped economists’ forecasts of 135,000. February’s employment growth was downwardly revised to 117,000.
Private sector payrolls surged by 209,000, the highest since December 2024. Employment rose in health care, social assistance, and transportation and warehousing. Retail trade also saw job gains, partly due to the return of workers following a strike.
Public sector payrolls surprisingly rose by 19,000, slightly quelling fears of DOGE-related …