U.S. Economy Adds 178,000 Jobs in Surprising Development

The U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in March, far exceeding expectations, the Labor Department said.

Economists had projected no change in the unemployment rate from February’s 4.4%.

The unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%, Emma Ockerman reported for Yahoo Finance.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a gain of 65,000 jobs, following February’s decline. That month’s loss was revised further upward, from 92,000 to 133,000 in Friday’s report.

Economists had projected no change in the unemployment rate from February’s 4.4%.

The recent data offers a snapshot of the labor market just as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began to weigh on an economy already experiencing sluggish hiring. While overall job growth was stronger than anticipated, the share of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more rose slightly to 25.4% of total unemployment.

The increase underscores the difficulty of finding work for those already out of a job, even as overall layoffs remain relatively low.