Overview
- Annual BLS benchmarking lowered March 2025 payroll levels by roughly 862,000 (898,000 seasonally adjusted), with December and January revised down a further 69,000.
- New household survey population controls cut the employment-to-population ratio by 0.5 percentage point and turned a previously reported yearly employment gain into a 426,000 loss.
- The three-month average pace of job growth is now roughly 6,000, with broad sector declines including health care where strikes weighed on payrolls.
- Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and 3.8% year over year, keeping wage pressure elevated despite softer hiring.
- Treasury yields and the dollar fell at first on the weak report before traders refocused on oil-driven inflation risks and the timing of potential Fed rate cuts.