What a surprisingly strong March jobs report means in the face of war | CNN Business

The latest jobs report showed that the US economy likely added 178,000 jobs in March, nearly triple expectations. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%. Forecasts had it holding steady at 4.4% or even rising to 4.5%. Health care and social assistance was once again the workhorse sector, accounting for half of the month’s gains; however, job growth was the most widespread across industries since December 2023. At first glance, Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the labor market wasn’t on life support as previously feared, but rather was on solid footing at a much-needed time – when war-driven economic shocks and uncertainty loom large. But take a step back and the labor market picture becomes a little fuzzier: A hefty chunk of those big gains could be attributable to nicer weather, the end of major labor strikes, and some recalibrations as to how the BLS estimates payroll changes at new and closed businesses. (Goldman Sachs economists estimated that those three factors alone likely accounted for 122,000 of March’s gains.) Adding to the volatility were low response rates to the surveys underlying March’s report. Plus, labor participation inched