US unemployment rate drops despite economic uncertainty and Iran war

White House says March jobs report ‘blew out expectations’ with gains made in the healthcare and construction sectors.Job growth in the United States rebounded in March despite the looming economic uncertainty pegged to tariffs and ongoing war on Iran.Friday’s monthly job report from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics showed that the unemployment rate in March tumbled. Non-farm payrolls grew by 178,000 jobs, following a drop in February that was revised even further downward to 133,000 in lost jobs. The unemployment rate is currently at 4.3 percent.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Oil price surges, Asian stocks fall as Trump vows to continue Iran attackslist 2 of 3Trump fires Pam Bondi as US attorney general, elevates Todd Blanchelist 3 of 3US Homeland Security shutdown to stretch on, despite Senate passing fundingend of listThe biggest gains in March were in the healthcare sector, which added 76,000 jobs — higher than the 29,000 average monthly increase in the sector over the last year.The gains, however, came after a large-scale nursing strike ended on February 24. That protest had taken more than 30,000 healthcare workers off of payrolls, helping to account for the rebound in March.The construction sector had the second largest jump in employment, with 26,000 jobs added in March. Transportation and warehousing also grew with 21,000 jobs over the previous month, though the sector has lost 139,000 jobs overall since February 2025.The federal government — the single largest employer in the US — continues to shrink, as President Donald Trump continues his push to address “waste, fraud and abuse”. It cut 18,000 federal employee positions in March, marking a 355,000 job decline from this time last year.The White House, however, praised this month’s jobs report as evidence that Trump’s policies were stimulating the domestic economy.“The March jobs report blew out expectations with strong construction job growth and a surge in manufacturing job creation as trillions of dollars in investments begin to materialize,” White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai wrote in a post on the social media platform X.