US economy added 178,000 jobs in March, well above expectations

The U.S. economy added jobs in March as the labor market rebounded after it unexpectedly shed jobs a month ago. What are the key findings of the March 2026 jobs report? The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 178,000 jobs in March. That figure was well above the expectations of economists polled by LSEG, who predicted a gain of 60,000 jobs. The unemployment rate declined slightly to 4.3%, which was slightly lower than the 4.4% projected by LSEG economists. Revisions were made to the payroll numbers for the prior two months, with January's report revised up by 34,000 jobs from a gain of 126,000 to 160,000; while February's report was revised down by 41,000 jobs from a loss of 92,000 to 133,000. Taken together, employment in January and February was 7,000 jobs lower than previously reported. What sectors added or lost the most jobs in March 2026? Private payrolls grew by 186,000 jobs in March when economists predicted a gain of 70,000 jobs. February's loss of 86,000 private sector jobs was also revised down to a loss of 129,000. Government payrolls contracted by 8,000 jobs in March. Job losses by the federal government (-18,000) and state governments (-4,000) were partially offset by local governments adding jobs (+14,000). The manufacturing sector added 15,000 jobs in March, beating LSEG economists' expectations that the sector would shed 5,000 jobs for the month. The sector's loss of 12,000 jobs in February was revised up to a loss of 6,000 jobs. Healthcare employment grew by 76,400 jobs in March. The sector was led by gains among ambulatory healthcare workers (+54,300), which reflected a gain caused by 35,000 workers in physicians' offices who returned from a strike. Employment also rose in hospitals (+14,900).