Way better than expected’: Economy surprises with 178,000 new jobs, but analysis says it gets even better
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday the U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, better than expected.
Predictions had guessed that unemployment would stay at 4.4% and job growth would be only 65,000.
The numbers were “way better than expected,” according to Dan North, of Allianz Trade Americas, in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
“I think we’ve seen a trend of … losing jobs in five of the last nine months, and the three-month average kind of really sinking, so this is a big change.”
“The United States does not need as much job creation as it has in years past, thanks in large part to the crackdown on illegal immigration, meaning that recent job growth is stronger than it might seem at first,” he explained. “Employers don’t need to add payroll jobs to prevent unemployment from trending up. The economy may even be able to lose some jobs each month and still keep treading water.”
He said, ‘That means that the recent pace of job growth, 68,000 on average over the past three months, is more than enough to stave off recession. In other words, Friday’s job report is better than it looks at first glance. ”
He said there are several factors, including that Baby Boomers are retiring and leaving the work force, meaning “they don’t need jobs.”
“Even more important to the jobs outlook, though, is President Donald Trump’s closing of the southern border and ramped-up immigration law enforcement. Those policies have stopped many migrants from coming to the U.S., and they have led others to leave. As a result, on net, more migrants appear to be leaving the U.S. than entering, a major reversal from years past.”
WINNING: President Trump’s economy is delivering!
The US labor data SHATTERED ESTIMATES, adding 178,000 new jobs, “experts” projected only 59,000 for March
CNBC: “This is a BIG NUMBER!” pic.twitter.com/vVNyMxhNcY
— Morse Report (@MorseReport) April 3, 2026
JUST IN: CNN absolutely SHOCKED after President Trump’s latest jobs report smashes all expectations:
“I mean the expectation was what? 60,000 jobs, and it’s 178,000? Wow!”pic.twitter.com/JowAOab1Wu
— Morse Report (@MorseReport) April 3, 2026
The great news in the March jobs report is the +178,000 job gains that came across a variety of industries.
Yes, healthcare still led the way with +76k job gains (~43%)
But you can see the gains across many others as well
Construction +26k
Manufacturing +15k
Retail +10k… pic.twitter.com/2KeLpkj9Rq— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) April 3, 2026
He said experts estimate because of the fact that more immigrants are leaving than are arriving, they think “the U.S. can lose 3,000 jobs a month and still have unemployment stay steady or trend down.”
The Examiner’s report explained the jobs report shows “that job growth has been relatively strong to start the year, which could help President Donald Trump raise his poor economic approval ratings.”
Further, the employment growth has been undermined by federal government layoffs recently and actually, “Private-sector job growth has been stronger.” Federal government employment dropped by 189,000 in March, following months of declines.
The total is down by 352,000 since President Trump took office.
And, “Fewer jobs are being created in large part because fewer people are in the country looking for jobs.”