Nonfarm payrolls increased by 178,000 during the month, bouncing back from a revised decline of 133,000 in February and beating expectations. However, revisions to earlier data showed a mixed trend, with February’s numbers lowered and January’s slightly increased, bringing the three-month average to about 68,000 jobs—indicating slower overall hiring.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%, but this was mainly due to a sharp drop in the number of people participating in the workforce. Around 396,000 people left the labor force, pushing the participation rate down to 61.9%, its lowest level since late 2021.

Wage growth remained soft, with average hourly earnings rising just 0.2% in March and 3.5% compared to a year ago, suggesting limited pressure from pay increases.