The US labor market remained strong despite recent global economic turmoil. The economy added 228,000 jobs in March, beating expectations of 130,000 job gains. However, the news comes as President Donald Trump’s trade policies continue to escalate a global trade war.
Experts warn that these tariffs could lead to stagflation, where economic growth stagnates and inflation rises. Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said “prices are rising faster than people want; growth is weak; and there will be some layoffs that will follow the demand destruction that could happen from tariffs being implemented.”
The US has now added jobs for 51 months in a row, marking the second-longest expansion on record. However, recent economic data suggests uncertainty and layoffs are on the rise amid policy shifts from the Trump administration.
Despite this, the labor market continues to be resilient. Job growth was more muted in goods-producing sectors, but overall employment gains were driven by the services sector, particularly health care and social assistance. Average wages grew at a healthy 0.3% rate for the month.
The Federal Reserve remains cautious and is unlikely to make any move on interest rates despite Trump’s demand for a cut. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said “we don’t need to be in a hurry” amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
As policy changes continue to impact the labor market, experts will closely monitor sectors such as healthcare and state and local government for signs of disruption.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/04/economy/us-jobs-report-march-2025/index.html