讀後心得

The data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on April 4 shows that in March 2025, non-farm payrolls increased by 228,000 jobs, far exceeding market expectations of 135,000. The unemployment rate rose from 4.1% in February to 4.2%, marking the highest point since November 2024. The broader unemployment rate decreased to 7.9%. The labor force participation rate slightly increased to 62.5%, but remains below the level of the same period last year. The average hours worked and wage growth met expectations, but the annual wage growth rate fell to 3.8%, the lowest since 2024. Average weekly hours and employment in manufacturing increased, but the manufacturing sector's share of non-farm employment slightly declined. Additionally, employment figures for federal government agencies decreased to 3 million, reaching a new low since 2024.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on April 4 indicating that 228,000 non-farm jobs were added in March 2025, far exceeding market expectations of 135,000. The job addition figures for January and February 2025 were revised down by 14,000 and 34,000, respectively, resulting in final figures of 111,000 and 117,000, with a total downward revision of 48,000.

The unemployment rate in the U.S. rose from 4.1% in February to 4.2% in March, marking the highest point since November 2024 and exceeding market expectations (4.1%); the broader unemployment rate (U6) decreased from 8.0% to 7.9%. According to adjusted data, the employment-population ratio in the U.S. remained at 59.9% in March, down from 60.3% a year earlier. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate (LFPR) rose from 62.4% in February to 62.5%, but still below 62.7% a year ago.

For older individuals (aged 55 and over), the labor participation rate in March slightly increased from 38.1% in February to 38.2%, marking the lowest point since 2007. The average weekly hours for all private sector employees in March remained flat at 34.2 hours, meeting market expectations, with a slight increase compared to 34.1 hours in January 2025.

In terms of wages, the month-over-month growth rate of average hourly earnings for all private sector employees in March rose from 0.2% in February to 0.3%, aligning with market expectations; the year-over-year growth rate decreased from 4.0% to 3.8%, the lowest level since July 2024 and below the market forecast of 3.9%. Simultaneously, the year-over-year growth rate of average weekly earnings for all private sector employees fell from 3.7% in February to 3.2%, also marking the lowest record since January 2024.

The average weekly hours for private production and non-supervisory employees increased from 33.6 hours in February to 33.8 hours in March, reaching the highest record since March 2024. The average weekly hours in manufacturing increased from 40.1 hours to 40.2 hours, also achieving the highest point since June 2024, with average overtime hours remaining at 2.9 hours per week. Employment in manufacturing rose by 1,000 people to 12,764,000, slightly above the 12,750,000 in October 2024, which is the lowest figure since May 2022.

According to statistics, the share of manufacturing in U.S. non-farm employment decreased from 0.08080 in February to 0.08053 in March 2025, slightly above the 0.07979 recorded in December 2024, representing the lowest level since 1939.

Additionally, the employment number for U.S. federal government agencies decreased by 4,000 people in March 2025, falling to 3 million, marking the lowest record since June 2024.