US registers strong job growth in boost to Trump

AFP | Washington

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The US economy posted unexpectedly strong job gains in March, data showed yesterday, in a development hailed as a win by US President Donald Trump’s administration but seen with caution by analysts.

The world’s largest economy gained 178,000 jobs in March, after losing 133,000 in February, and the unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 percentage-points to 4.3 percent, the Labor Department said.

Friday’s data significantly beat analyst expectations, with economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal expecting an increase of 59,000 jobs.

The data was stronger than forecast, “but vastly overstates the sustainable pace of job growth,” said Oxford Economics lead US economist Nancy Vanden Houten.

“The end of a strike, seasonal quirks and a rebound after harsh winter weather likely boosted job growth in some sectors,” she said. The White House, however, touted the numbers as a major success.

“Americans can rest assured that after the short-term disruptions of Operation Epic Fury are behind us, America’s economic resurgence is set to only accelerate,” said spokesperson Kush Desai, referring to the US-Israel war on Iran.

Health care recovery

Much of March’s recovery was fueled by health care jobs, which have remained resilient even as labor demand has dropped in other sectors.

Health care added 76,000 jobs in March, after having lost jobs the month before, in part due to strike actions.

Employment in construction also grew by 26,000 in March, although the Labor Department flagged that it had changed little over its level from a year ago.

Federal government employment continued to decline, down 11.8 percent since October 2024. Trump has taken a hatchet to the sector in a drive aimed at cost-cutting and reducing the size of government.

The new data reflected a revision in the figures for January and February, showing employment for those two months combined was 7,000 lower than previously reported.