U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs in March ahead of trade war escalation

• The Labor Department said job gains in January and February were revised lower by a combined 48,000 payrolls.

Details: The March job gains are the strongest of 2025 yet and blew past analysts' forecasts of 140,000 job gains.

• The full effect of DOGE-related layoffs are not yet apparent in the report.
• Employment within the federal government fell by 4,000 last month, after losing 11,000 jobs in February. But the Labor Department notes that "employees on paid leave or ongoing severance pay" are still counted as employed.

Average hourly earnings, a gauge of wage growth, rose 0.3% last month.

• Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings are up 3.8% among private sector workers, slowing from the 4% in February.

What they're saying: "GREAT JOB NUMBERS, FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED. IT'S ALREADY WORKING," Trump posted on Truth Social after the release of the jobs report.

The big picture: The report is the most comprehensive snapshot of the labor market, as surveys suggest weakening sentiment among businesses and consumers.

• The Federal Reserve is closely watching economic indicators — including today's jobs report — for signs of how the White House's trade policy is impacting the economy.
• Fed chair Jerome Powell will speak at 11:25 a.m. ET on Friday, the first public comments since Trump ratcheted up tariffs earlier this week.

The bottom line: Wall Street economists are downgrading economic growth forecasts, while hiking inflation expectations for 2025 following Trump's reciprocal tariffs.

• But as of last month the labor market was on solid footing — so far defying expectations of a slowdown.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with President Trump's comments.