The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, far above the 140,000 economists had projected, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
March’s job gains far outnumbered the 117,000 jobs added in February, the BLS reported. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up slightly in March to 4.2%, up from 4.1% in February, according to the BLS.
“I think it’s important to view this report with a little bit of caution,” Lydia Mashburn Newman, managing director of monetary economics at the American Institute for Economic Research, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “But the report itself does indicate that the jobs market is looking pretty good and says that the economy was doing pretty good when the surveys were taken.”
“That’s healthy job growth, and would indicate that the economy is doing well,” Newman added.
Federal government payrolls declined by 4,000 in March, following a loss of 11,000 jobs in February, according to the BLS. Notably, February marked the largest downturn in jobs in the federal government sector since June 2022. (RELATED: Jobs Rained Down On Federal Gov’t While Middle America Watched Its Private Sector Gigs Vanish)
“The March jobs report exceeds expectations with 228,000 jobs added,” The White House wrote Friday in a post on X. “The Golden Age has begun!”
The Trump administration, alongside Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been leading a massive push to slash wasteful spending across the federal government, which has led to sweeping layoffs at dozens of federal agencies.
“Job creation smashed expectations last month as the Main Street labor market and real economy strengthened due to President Trump’s policies of deregulation and cheap energy,” Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of the Job Creators Network, wrote in a Friday statement in response to the BLS’ March jobs report. “What’s even more positive is the makeup of these jobs, which overwhelmingly were productive, private-sector positions.”
“Federal jobs declined again last month thanks to the Trump administration’s efficiency efforts,” Ortiz added. “That’s a stark change from the Biden administration, where approximately half of the new jobs were in government or quasi-government roles. Wages also rose faster than inflation, meaning Americans’ living standards are rising once again.”
🚨BREAKING: U.S. payrolls rose by 228,000 in March, exceeding expectations by economists.
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 4, 2025
Former President Joe Biden notably oversaw a variety of economic issues during his term in office, including high inflation which imposed onerous burdens on American households, as well as a widening federal deficit.
While on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to improve the U.S. economy, as the economy repeatedly ranked as one of the most crucial issues among voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The president signed a Jan. 20 memorandum aiming to defeat the “cost-of-living crisis,” which instructed all federal agencies and departments to “deliver emergency price relief, consistent with applicable law, to the American people and increase the prosperity of the American worker.” (RELATED: ‘Music To Our Ears’: Rust Belt Caller Tells Mark Halperin He Feels ‘Heard’ After Trump Announces Sweeping Tariffs)
Still, many Americans have expressed disapproval over Trump’s economic policies during his second term. A 56% majority of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, worse than at any point during his first term, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released March 12.
“It’s important to continue to take a look at manufacturing [jobs] since that’s one of the main things that the president has been keen to support with his policies,” Newman told the DCNF. “We actually have not yet seen a whole lot of positive change in the manufacturing sector.”
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