Associated Press Economics Writer Paul Wiseman
WASHINGTON (AP) — US employers added an astounding 228,000 jobs last month. President Donald Trump has embarked on a dangerous trade war with the world, indicating that the US labor market is in solid state. The unemployment rate reached a maximum of 4.2%.
The number of recruits rose from 117,000 in February, almost twice the 130,000 economists had expected. The Labor Bureau’s revision shaved 48,000 jobs from its January and February salaries.
Workers’ average hourly revenues rose 0.3% from February on what economists were expecting. Compared to a year ago, hourly wages are up 3.8%, slightly below the forecasted 4%, approaching a 3.5% profit year-over-year profit, which is considered to be in line with the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual inflation target.
Healthcare companies added nearly 54,000 jobs and nearly 30,000 restaurants and bars as the job market bounced off the bitter winter weather in January and February. The federal government has lost 4,000. This is an indication that Elon Musk’s federal workforce deletion may be beginning to appear only in the data.
Unemployment rates rose modestly, but 232,000 people entered the workforce as economists consider good reasons. So you were looking for a job or looking for a job, but not all of them found a job right away.
Trump quickly claimed victory and posted on his true social platform, where employment numbers proved that his policies were “already working.” He also said, “My policies will never change.”
But the economist says employment numbers provide a way to view the economy’s rearview mirror and are worried about damages from his policy, including the “liberation date” import tax, which was announced Wednesday. Financial markets are upset in the face of his trade war.
The Dow Jones Index plunged 1,000 points at the opening bell on Friday after China announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, which followed a 1,600-point drop the previous day. The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq have plunged 5% to nearly 7% this week, wiping out billions of value for US companies.
“This could be high water levels as we enter spring,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at accounting giant KPMG. Economic uncertainty remains high, she said. Will the trade war escalate? How will the market become disorderly? There’s a lot going on right now. ”
Other economic threats stem from Trump’s firing of federal workers, canceling government contracts and his promise to deport millions of immigrants who work illegally in the United States. Over the past few years, these workers have eased labor shortages and helped the economy continue to grow. If they are deported or scared of the job market, companies could cut what they’re doing, raise wages, raise prices, or supply inflation.
The employment market has been cooled since the red-heat recruitment date from 2021 to 2023. Employers added 117,000 jobs in February and 111,000 in January. Not bad, but it fell from a monthly average of 168,000 last year, 216,000 in 2023, 380,000 in 2022 and a record 603,000 in 2021.
“The market needed today’s numbers,” said Sheemashhah, a leading global strategist and a leading asset manager. “Everyone knows economic weakness is coming, but at least it can reassure the labour market is robust to this policy-driven shock.”
The economy is extremely durable with high interest rates on the face.
In 2022 and 2023, the Fed raised benchmark interest rates 11 times to combat inflation. Economists were hoping for higher borrowing costs to lean the US into a recession. But they didn’t. Consumers continued to spend, employers continued to hire, and the economy continued to grow.
Inflation has declined – last year, the Fed has allowed it to cut its fees three times. But progress on inflation has since stumbled, forcing the Fed to postpone more interest rate cuts this year.
Nowadays, there is an increasing number of concerns about economic health. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey last month showed that two-thirds of American consumers hopes for a rise in unemployment rates over the next year. This is the best reading of 16 years.
“The US economy is in good condition at the start of the second quarter, but the ongoing trade war has dramatically increased the risk of a short-term recession,” wrote Ershang Liang of PNC Economics in a commentary on Thursday.
Original issue: April 4, 2025 7:41am EDT
