The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its employment / unemployment report for March on April 4^th, 2025.

Employment / Unemployment 

• Seasonally Adjusted U3- 4.2% Up from 4.1%
• Unadjusted U3- 4.2% Down from 4.5% in February
• Unadjusted U6- 7.9% Down from 8.4% in February
• Labor Force Participation Rate- 62.5% Up from 62.4%
• Employment- 158.506 million Up from 157.950 million
• Next data release May 2^nd, 2025

Summary:

The total number of Employed increased in March, and Unadjusted Unemployment was down but Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment was up.

So although Unadjusted Unemployment fell sharply from 4.5% to 4.2%  Adjusted Unemployment rose slightly from 4.1% to 4.2%.

According to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 228,000 in March, higher than the average monthly gain of 158,000 over the prior 12 months. In March, job gains occurred in health care, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing. 

Employment also increased in retail trade, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Federal government employment declined. 

Health care added 54,000 jobs in March, in line with the average monthly gain of 52,000 over the prior 12 months. 

Retail trade added 24,000 jobs in March, as workers returning from a strike contributed to a job gain in food and beverage retailers (+21,000). 

Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 23,000 in March, about double the prior 12-month average gain of 12,000.

Within government, federal government employment declined by 4,000 in March, following a loss of 11,000 jobs in February. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)”

You can read the full BLS report here.

As usual, they are talking about “Seasonally Adjusted Jobs”.

Looking at the Unadjusted Establishment Survey report we see…

Looking at the Unadjusted Establishment Survey report we see…
Originally the BLS reported employment of 157.983 million for February
which they adjusted slightly to 157.950 million.

They are currently reporting 158.506 million jobs for March which is actually an increase of 523,000 jobs based on their original numbers. The LFPR was up from 62.4% to 62.5%.

Current Unemployment Rate Chart

As the chart below shows, although unemployment is still low, it is above the lows of 2019 and 2023. At 4.2%, Seasonally Adjusted unemployment is still “Very Good” it is still lower than the lowest achieved in 2006-2007.

Current Employment Rate

In February 2025 the BLS issued massive adjustments that created a sea of red in the Employment levels, erasing millions of supposed jobs in 2023 and 2024, while January’s numbers barely changed.

See Current Employment  for more information.

BLS: March 2025 Employment by Sector

The BLS employment “bubble chart” based on the Establishment Survey Data gives us a good picture of the Seasonally Adjusted employment numbers.

The Bubble’s Size tells us the total Employment for that industry (i.e., larger bubbles mean more people are employed in that sector).

The bubble’s location on the chart tells us that there has been a change in Employment Levels over the most recent month… A bubble further to the right indicates larger job growth. A bubble’s vertical location on the chart shows the average industry salary.

Remember, these are Seasonally Adjusted Numbers, so they aren’t cumulative!

Looking at the above chart we can see that three sectors were below zero (i.e., left of the zero line -lost workers). Several others were very close to zero.

BLS Average Weekly Wages

BLS Employment and Average Weekly Earnings by Industry

March 2025, Seasonally Adjusted Employment

Note that due to “seasonal adjusting,” although they may claim that there was a “monthly increase” (or decrease), there isn’t always an actual increase; you can’t just subtract last month’s “employment level” from this month’s level. For instance, Manufacturing was supposed to be up by 1,000 in March. But February was 12,765,000 and March was 12,763,000 which looks like a -2,000 job decrease, not a 1,000 increase.

Source: BLS

ADP^® National Employment Report

ADP provides an independent (non-government) estimate of private-sector employment and pay, based on data derived from ADP client payrolls. According to ADP®, In collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The numbers are released a few days before the BLS numbers and are often quite different.

ADP: Private employers added 155,000 jobs in March

• Manufacturing delivered stronger-than-average job gains for the second straight month. Construction hiring slowed. Natural resources and trade, transportation, and utilities lost jobs.

Source: ADP®

ADP Private Employment by Establishment Size

March ADP Changes:

ADP Job Gainers / Losers

ADP provides an entirely different picture of the job situation compared to the BLS perspective. For instance, according to the BLS: Professional and Business Services gained 3,000 jobs but ADP says they gained 57,000. Sometimes ADP also combines groups differently such as Trade, Transportation, and Utilities which the BLS lists separately.

Unemployment

Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment is up 0.1% at 4.2%.

Labor Force Participation Rate

The LFPR is up from 62.4% to 62.5%.

Less Than Full Employment

This chart compares employment levels with the (inverted) unemployment rate.

Full Employment is when everyone who wants a job has one. It is generally considered to be around 3%. After the unemployment rate almost touched the magic full employment line in April 2023, it began moving away (i.e., higher unemployment).

Note: The Unemployment rate is inverted to track the employment rate. Neither is Seasonally Adjusted. For more information see Employment vs. Unemployment.

Note: Full employment is not considered to be at zero percent because even when employers are having difficulty finding employees, some people are still unemployed due to either:

1. structural unemployment (mismatch between worker skills and job requirements, i.e., not enough training) or
2. frictional unemployment There will always be people who have quit or have lost a seasonal job and are in the process of getting a new job. Or Simply because they quit their job knowing it would be easy to find another (hopefully better) job.

Seasonally Adjusted U1 through U6 Unemployment Rates

Employment-Population Ratio

By Gender

This chart shows the Employment-Population Ratio by Gender. Men make up a much larger portion of the workforce, i.e., 67.3% of men are employed, and only 56.6% of women are employed. But…

As you can see, 20 years ago, back in 2005, over 72% of men were working and 57.4% of women were working. In 2008, the Great Recession caused a massive decline in employment for both men and women. By December of 2009, only 66.4% of men were working and 55.4% of women. Over the next decade and a half, women workers rebounded back to 56.6% but men only rebounded to 67.3%.

Employment-Population Ratio by Race

This chart shows the Employment-Population Ratio by Race. As we can see Hispanics and Asians have the highest percentage employed with Asians rising slightly above Hispanics this month.

Read more on UnemploymentData.com.