WASHINGTON — March employment figures released by federal officials show available positions remained flat at 6.9 million, signaling continued weakness in the nation’s workforce even as broader economic challenges loom.
Employment trends have fluctuated throughout this year following disappointing performance in 2025. Ongoing conflict in Iran has added uncertainty to economic forecasts and employment prospects.
Federal labor statistics from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey revealed workforce reductions increased during March. However, companies expanded their hiring efforts, while voluntary resignations climbed — indicating workers feel more optimistic about economic conditions.
Available positions have declined consistently since reaching an all-time high of 12.3 million in March 2022 during the nation’s recovery from pandemic restrictions. Elevated borrowing costs implemented to combat 2021-2022 price increases, questions surrounding President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, and possible disruption from artificial intelligence advances have limited aggressive hiring practices.
During the previous year, businesses created less than 10,000 positions monthly, marking the slowest job growth outside of economic downturns since 2002. This year’s employment figures have shown volatility — robust gains in January with 160,000 new positions and March with 178,000, contrasted by February’s decline of 133,000 eliminated jobs.
The Labor Department will release April employment statistics on Friday. Economic analysts surveyed by FactSet predict employers across private companies, nonprofit organizations and government entities will report adding 57,000 net positions last month, while joblessness is forecast to hold at 4.3%.
