Employment Research Brief

Hiring improved in March. Employers added 178,000 jobs last month, more than offsetting the loss of 133,000 positions in February. Net hiring for the first quarter of 2026 was 205,000, nearly four times that of the same span in 2025. Even so, March’s employment growth was concentrated in only a few sectors, with most new roles tied to health care, dining, construction, and courier services. Outside those industries, job additions totaled about 34,000, while some white-collar fields and the federal government reported contractions.