WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings were essentially flat in March, but employment improved before the full impact of the Iran war hit America. economy.
Employers created 6.87 million jobs in March, compared with 6.92 million in February, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
of job market After a disastrous 2025, this year has been full of ups and downs so far. And the Iran war, which began on February 28, has clouded the economic and employment outlook.
The Recruitment and Turnover Survey showed that layoffs increased in March. But employment improved, with employers adding 5.55 million total jobs, the most since February 2024. Also, more Americans are quitting their jobs, a sign of confidence in the future.
As the U.S. economy recovers from coronavirus lockdowns, the number of job openings has more or less steadily declined since reaching a record high of 12.3 million in March 2022. Responding to high interest rates and the inflation explosion from 2021 to 2022. Uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s policies. And potentially, artificial intelligence This hinders active employment.
Employers added fewer than 10,000 jobs a month last year, the weakest hiring period outside of a recession since 2002. Job creation has improved so far in 2026, with strong gains in January (160,000 new jobs) and March (178,000 jobs), followed by a slowdown in February, when employers cut 133,000 jobs.
The Department of Labor will release its April employment report on Friday. Net employment by businesses, nonprofits and government agencies is expected to steadily increase by 57,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate will remain low at 4.3%, according to a survey of forecasters by data firm FactSet.
Partly because of President Trump immigration crackdownthere will be fewer people competing for jobs. This means the economy does not need as many new jobs to prevent unemployment from rising. A year ago, St. Louis Fed economists estimated the “breakeven” rate of monthly employment at 153,000, but St. Louis Fed economist Alexander Bick estimated in an update released in March that it could be at least 15,000 jobs per month.
Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a commentary that Tuesday’s JOLTS report showed a “stable labor market,” but warned that “this picture of the labor market will change as the economy adjusts to oil above $100 a barrel, rising inflation, possible monetary tightening, and a global recession starting in Asia.” oil supply disruption and natural gas from the Persian Gulf.
