Washington, DC...Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 228,000 in March, and the unemployment rate changed
little at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred
in health care, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment also
increased in retail trade, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Federal
government employment declined.



This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures
labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment
survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about
the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.

Household Survey Data

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.1 million,
changed little in March. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0 percent to
4.2 percent since May 2024. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.8 percent), adult women
(3.7 percent), teenagers (13.7 percent), Whites (3.7 percent), Blacks (6.2 percent), Asians
(3.5 percent), and Hispanics (5.1 percent) showed little or no change in March. (See tables
A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.5 million,
changed little in March. The long-term unemployed accounted for 21.3 percent of all unemployed
people. (See table A-12.)

The labor force participation rate, at 62.5 percent, changed little over the month and over
the year. The employment-population ratio held at 59.9 percent in March. (See table A-1.)

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.8 million, changed little
in March. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part
time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See
table A-8.)

The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job was essentially unchanged
at 5.9 million in March. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were
not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to
take a job. (See table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached
to the labor force, at 1.7 million, was essentially unchanged in March. These individuals
wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months
but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged
workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for
them, changed little at 509,000 in March. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 228,000 in March, higher than the average monthly
gain of 158,000 over the prior 12 months. In March, job gains occurred in health care, in
social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment also increased in retail
trade, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Federal government employment
declined. (See table B-1.)

Health care added 54,000 jobs in March, in line with the average monthly gain of 52,000 over
the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in ambulatory health
care services (+20,000), hospitals (+17,000), and nursing and residential care facilities
(+17,000).

In March, employment in social assistance increased by 24,000, higher than the average monthly
gain of 19,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, individual and family services added
22,000 jobs.

Retail trade added 24,000 jobs in March, as workers returning from a strike contributed to a
job gain in food and beverage retailers (+21,000). General merchandise retailers lost 5,000
jobs. Employment in retail trade changed little over the year.

Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 23,000 in March, about double the prior
12-month average gain of 12,000. In March, job gains in couriers and messengers (+16,000) and
truck transportation (+10,000) were partially offset by a job loss in warehousing and storage
(-9,000).

Within government, federal government employment declined by 4,000 in March, following a loss
of 11,000 jobs in February. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are
counted as employed in the establishment survey.) 

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining,
quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade;
information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality;
and other services.

In March, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 9
cents, or 0.3 percent, to $36.00. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 3.8 percent. In March, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and
nonsupervisory employees edged up by 5 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $30.96. (See tables B-3 and
B-8.)

In March, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at
34.2 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at 40.2 hours, and
overtime was unchanged at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory
employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour to 33.8 hours in March. (See
tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised down by 14,000, from
+125,000 to +111,000, and the change for February was revised down by 34,000, from +151,000
to +117,000. With these revisions, employment in January and February combined is 48,000 lower
than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from
businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the
recalculation of seasonal factors.)

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The Employment Situation for April is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 2, 2025,
at 8:30 a.m. (ET).