Employers added 228,000 jobs in March, beating expectations from LSEG economists who predicted 135,000. The Labor Department released the report on Friday, showing stronger-than-expected job growth.
The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2%, higher than the previous month and above forecasts. While job gains were strong in March, the uptick in unemployment suggests some cooling in the labor market.
Revisions to earlier months painted a less rosy picture. January’s job gains were revised down from 125,000 to 111,000, and February’s dropped from 151,000 to 117,000.
That’s a total reduction of 48,000 jobs across the two months. Despite March’s strength, the revised numbers show job growth wasn’t quite as solid earlier in the year.