The March 2026 Jobs Report & February 2026 JOLTS: The Current U.S. Employment Situation

Industry Insights

The March 2026 Jobs Report released today, showing a market that has rebounded with an increase of 178,000 jobs; economists were forecasting just 60,000 jobs would be added. The unemployment rate ticked down .1 percentage point to 4.3% and the number of unemployed persons decreased to 7.2 million.

Change in Nonfarm Payroll Employment

November ’25	64K
December ’25	50K
January ’26	130K
February ’26	-92K
March ’26	178K

Unemployment Rate

November ’25	4.6%
December ’25	4.4%
January ’26	4.3%
February ’26	4.4%
March ’26	4.3%

February 2026 JOLTS Summary

The latest JOLTS data, released March 31, showed 6.9 million job openings – fewer than January’s revised 7.2 million. Hires and total separations also decreased to 4.8 million and 5.0 million, respectively.

Of note within specific industries, hires increased in financial activities (+40,000) and decreased in leisure and hospitality (-185,000), professional and business services (-154,000), private education and health services (-103,000), and construction (-88,000). Only a few industries saw increases in job openings: retail trade (+24,000), professional and business services (+64,000), and other services (+77,000).

Number of Unemployed Persons

November ’25	7.8M
December ’25	7.5M
January ’26	7.4M
February ’26	7.6M
March ’26	7.2M

Additional March 2026 Jobs Report & February 2026 JOLTS Takeaways

The lower unemployment rate in March was largely due to a reduction in the labor force participation rate, which fell to 61.9% and the lowest recorded since November 2021.
The hires rate dipped from 3.4% to 3.1% and the quits rate ticked back down to 1.9% from 2.0%.
Hourly wages rose by just $0.09, or 0.2%, to $37.38; per Talmon Joseph Smith of the New York Times, “This may be the result of slowed recruiting and hiring in the labor market. When fewer employers are hiring, it tends to be harder for workers to find the competing offers that often produce raises.”
Jobs added in January were revised up by 34,000, while February's numbers were revised down by 41,000.

March 2026 Jobs Data by Industry

Many of the industries we track month-to-month saw increases in employment in March after losses in February, notably health care and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, and construction. Government employment continued to decline.

Change in Employment by Industry

Industry	January	February	March
Construction	33K	-11K	26K
Manufacturing	5K	-12K	15K
Motor Vehicles & Parts	0.9K	-1.6K	0.6K
Retail Trade	1.2K	2.3K	9.7K
Transportation & Warehousing	-11.2K	-11.3K	21K
Utilities	1K	1.3K	-1.2K
Information	-12K	-11K	-3K
Financial Activities	-22K	10K	-15K
Professional & Business Services	34K	-5K	2K
Health Care & Social Assistance	123.5K	-18.6K	89.9K
Leisure & Hospitality	1K	-27K	44K
Other Services	7K	8K	-9K
Government	-42K	-6K	-8K

What should we take away from the latest Employment Situation Summary and JOLTS?

Per Heather Long, Chief Economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, “The bottom line is March was somewhat encouraging, but it’s been a rocky year for the labor market with almost no hiring since last April. The March data will keep the Federal Reserve on hold, but no one is declaring victory yet. It’s likely to be a tough spring for job seekers.”

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