US Nonfarm Payrolls Rise to 178K, Highest Since December 2024

2026-04-03 12:32 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

The US economy added 178K jobs in March 2026, the most since December 2024, following a revised decline of 133K in February, when a strike in the healthcare sector weighed on employment.

The figure came in well above market expectations of 60K.

Job gains were concentrated in healthcare (76K), mostly ambulatory health care services (54K), reflecting an increase of 35K in offices of physicians as workers returned from a strike.

Construction added 26K jobs following weather-related declines during the winter.

Transportation and warehousing created 21K jobs, manufacturing added 15K and employment in social assistance continued its upward trend (14K).

On the other hand, federal government employment continued to decline (-18K) and declines were also seen in financial activities (-15K).

The change in payrolls for January was revised up by 34K to 160K, and the change for February was revised down by 41K to -133K.

Employment combined for the two months is 7K lower than early reported.



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