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March jobs report to show updated view of fragile labor market as war unfolded
Yahoo! Finance
March jobs report to show updated view of fragile labor market as war unfolded
Emma Ockerman
Thu, April 2, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT • 2 min read
The Labor Department is set to release the March jobs report Friday morning, providing a fuller picture of the state of the job market just as the US-Israel war on Iran began to weigh on the global economy.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a gain of 65,000 jobs, reversing February’s surprise drop of 95,000 positions amid a massive strike of healthcare workers. That monthly gain would also be in line with last March and likely sufficient for “breakeven employment” growth, or the number of jobs needed to maintain a steady unemployment rate as immigration plummets.
Indeed, the unemployment rate, which rose to 4.4% in February, is seen holding steady.
Anxiety is swirling about AI-related job displacement, a remarkably weak hiring rate, and any added uncertainty the war might bring to already jittery employers. So far, though, data shows the labor market is chugging along as it has been for months — not exactly reassuring to those looking for work, but also nothing catastrophic.
{snip}
March jobs report to show updated view of fragile labor market as war unfolded
Emma Ockerman
Thu, April 2, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT • 2 min read
The Labor Department is set to release the March jobs report Friday morning, providing a fuller picture of the state of the job market just as the US-Israel war on Iran began to weigh on the global economy.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a gain of 65,000 jobs, reversing February’s surprise drop of 95,000 positions amid a massive strike of healthcare workers. That monthly gain would also be in line with last March and likely sufficient for “breakeven employment” growth, or the number of jobs needed to maintain a steady unemployment rate as immigration plummets.
Indeed, the unemployment rate, which rose to 4.4% in February, is seen holding steady.
Anxiety is swirling about AI-related job displacement, a remarkably weak hiring rate, and any added uncertainty the war might bring to already jittery employers. So far, though, data shows the labor market is chugging along as it has been for months — not exactly reassuring to those looking for work, but also nothing catastrophic.
{snip}