US job growth rebounded in March and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, suggesting the labor market was stabilizing as the Iran war began.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 178,000 last month, the most since the end of 2024, after a sharper decline in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Friday. That was higher than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%.
Economists had widely expected a rebound in employment in March after a strike by more than 30,000 health care workers and severe winter weather contributed to an outsize decline in February. The solid increase will likely reinforce the Federal Reserve’s focus on inflation risks amid a rapid run-up in energy prices sparked by the war in the Middle East.
US Treasury yields rose following the release. The stock market is closed for the Good Friday holiday.
The advance in payrolls was led by health-care employment, which recovered after the resolution of the strike by Kaiser Permanente workers in California and Hawaii. Construction and leisure and hospitality also rose following declines in February, possibly reflecting a weather-related snap back.