The Employment Situation Summary released on April 3 highlights persistent disparities in the labor market, as payroll employment increased by 178,000 in March and the overall unemployment rate remained relatively stable at 4.3 percent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported gains in health care, construction, and transportation and warehousing, while federal government employment continued to decline.
Notably, the unemployment rate for Black workers stood at 7.1 percent in March—significantly higher than the national average—underscoring ongoing challenges faced by this demographic in securing employment.
Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, and the number of unemployed individuals, at 7.2 million, showed little change in March.
This rate decreased in March.
The jobless rates for adult men (3.8 percent), adult women (4.0 percent), teenagers (13.7 percent), and individuals who are White (3.6 percent), Black (7.1 percent), and Hispanic (4.8 percent) showed little change over the month.
The number of long-term unemployed individuals (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) remained at 1.8 million in March, up 322,000 from a year earlier.
Long-term unemployed individuals represented 25.4 percent of all unemployed persons in March. Both the labor force participation rate, at 61.9 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 59.2 percent, remained largely unchanged in March.
These measures also exhibited minimal change over the year, after accounting for annual population control adjustments. The number of people employed part-time for economic reasons was 4.5 million in March, with little change from previous months.
These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to secure full-time positions.
The number of individuals not in the labor force who currently want a job remained at 6.0 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.
Among those not in the labor force who wanted employment, the number of individuals marginally attached to the labor force increased by 325,000 in March to 1.9 million. These individuals were available for work and had searched for employment at some point in the previous 12 months, but had not looked for work in the four weeks preceding the survey.
The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, increased by 144,000 in March to 510,000.
- The health care sector added 76,000 jobs in March. Employment in ambulatory health care services rose by 54,000, including a 35,000 increase in offices of physicians as workers returned from a strike.
- Hospital employment also increased by 15,000. Over the previous 12 months, health care had added an average of 29,000 jobs per month (Statistics, 2025).
- Employment in construction grew by 26,000 in March but showed little net change over the prior 12 months.
In March, transportation and warehousing added 21,000 jobs, primarily due to a gain of 20,000 positions in couriers and messengers. Employment in transportation and warehousing has declined by 139,000 since its peak in February 2025.
Employment in social assistance continued to increase in March, with a gain of 14,000 jobs, mainly in individual and family services (+11,000).
Federal government employment continued to decline in March, decreasing by 18,000 positions.
Since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment has fallen by 355,000, or 11.8 percent.
Employees on furlough during the partial government shutdown were counted as employed in the establishment survey because they worked or received (or will receive) pay for the pay period that included the 12th of the month.
Employment in financial activities declined by 15,000 in March, primarily due to a loss of 16,000 positions in finance and insurance.
Employment in financial activities has decreased by 77,000 since its peak in May 2025.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour to 34.2 hours in March.
In manufacturing, the average workweek remained at 40.2 hours, with overtime hours unchanged at 3.0 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.8 hours.
References
Statistics, U. B. (April 2, 2026). Employment Situation Summary – March 2026. USDL-26-0367.
Statistics, U. B. (August 7, 2025). Health care added 55,000 jobs in July 2025. The Economics Daily.
(March 5, 2026). Total nonfarm payroll employment down by 92,000 in February 2026. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.