The United States added 228,000 solid jobs last month while the economy shows resilience

By Paul Wiseman and Anne d’Anocerzio, AP Business Writers

Washington (AP) – US employers added 228,000 surprising jobs last month, showing that the American labor market was in good condition while President Donald Trump embarked on a risky trade war with the rest of the world. The unemployment rate reached 4.2%.

The number of hires was up compared to 117,000 in February and was almost double the 130,000 that economists expected. Revisions by the Labor Department shaved 48,000 jobs on the wage bill in January and February.

Workers’ average hourly income increased by 0.3% compared to February, what economists expected. Compared to a year earlier, the hourly wage increased by 3.8%, slightly below 4% which had been planned and approaching gains of 3.5% of one year over the other considered as compliant with the annual inflation objective of 2% of the Federal Reserve.

Health care companies have added nearly 54,000 jobs and restaurants and bars nearly 30,000 while the job market bounced back in bitter winter in January and February. The federal government has lost 4,000, a sign that the purge of Elon Musk on the federal workforce can only begin to appear in the data.

The unemployment rate has increased modestly, but for economists consider a good reason: 232,000 people entered the active population – which means that they worked or sought work – although they did not all find jobs immediately.

Trump was quick to claim victory, displaying his Truth social platform that the hiring figures have proven that his policies “already worked”. He also said: “My policies will never change.”

But economists say that job figures offer a mirror look at the economy and are concerned about damage to the future of its policies, including the import tax of “Liberation Day”.

The Dow Jones index plunged 1,000 points to the opening bell on Friday after China announced reprisal prices against the United States which followed a drop of 1,600 points the day before.

“This could be the high water brand while we are entering the spring,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist of the KPMG accounting giant. Economic uncertainty remains high, she said. “Are the prices contained? Is the trade war increase? How are the markets disorderly? There are a lot at the moment.

Other economic threats come from the dismissals of federal workers by Trump and the cancellation of government contracts and its promise to deport millions of immigrants who work illegally in the United States. In recent years, these workers have attenuated labor shortages and helped the economy to continue to grow. If they are expelled or frightened from the labor market, companies may have to reduce what they do or increase wages and increase prices, potentially fuel inflation.

The labor market was cooled by the hiring days heated by the red of 2021-2023. Employers added 117,000 jobs in February and 111,000 in January. Not bad but down compared to the monthly averages of 168,000 last year, 216,000 in 2023, 380,000 in 2022 and a record of 603,000 in 2021 while the economy dates back covid-19 locking.

“The market needed today today,” said Seema Shah, a global strategist, the main asset management. “Everyone knows that economic weakness is coming, but at least we can be reassured that the labor market was robust in this shock focused on politics.”

In 2022 and 2023, the Fed increased its reference interest rate 11 times to combat inflation. Economists expected higher borrowing costs to change the United States in the recession. But they didn’t do it. Consumers continued to spend, employers continued to hire and the economy continued to grow.

Now there are growing concerns about the health of the economy. The consumer feelings of the University of Michigan consumers last month showed that two -thirds of American consumers expected unemployment to increase in next year – the highest 16 -year -old reading.

Jorge Marquez, who oversees training and investment programs as the head of the impact of Goodwill Southern California, said that uncertainty about federal jobs and expenditure reductions and that Trump’s commercial wars have paralyzed the hiring for management jobs.

Politics, Marquez said: “In a way, keep the tips … Anything can happen now.

At Fort Hamilton Distillery in Brooklyn, the co-founder Alex Clark would like to add to his staff of 11 workers full and part-time. But he does not want to risk it with so much uncertainty surrounding economic policy.

“If the world was sailing on a uniform keel at the moment, we will seek to add bodies,” he said. “But we don’t get this atmosphere.”

He buys goods in advance to get ahead of Trump’s prices – but that means less money for an extended wage bill. He bought a palette of palette – a mini forklift – “very quickly before the prices were triggered on China,” he said. “We have in charge of these purchases to make sure that we have enough in stock … Normally, I would not buy a year of traffic jams (from Mexico). I don’t need a year of traffic jams. I need three months of traffic jams. ”

“We attach cash flows now for things we don’t need,” he said. “If we do not do it, we must or not pay more in the future … uncertainty is what kills us.”

Jessica Bettencourt is CEO of Klem’s, a third generation store in Spencer, Massachusetts which sells everything from lawn and garden items to work clothes and gifts, with around 70 workers. She said that she was going to suspend the hiring as she sails in the dam of new prices. His articles come from all over the world, including China and Vietnam.

The suppliers have already warned it of price increases and Bettencourt expects the pace to accelerate. It sells boots made in the United States for nearly $ 400, compared to versions of $ 150 made outside the United States

The prices of sellers can be volatile, said Bettencourt.

“I immediately sent an email to my staff and asked him to make sure to order more virgin price rolls,” she said. “It will be a long year.”

D’Inocenzio has brought in New York.

Originally published: April 4, 2025 at 4:41 pm PDT