U.S. adds 178,000 jobs in March, beating forecasts

Bitcoin held steady near $67,000 following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report, showing little immediate reaction as macro signals remained mixed.

The U.S. labor market rebounded sharply in March after February’s ضعف. Data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the economy added 178,000 jobs, a significant turnaround from the prior month’s revised decline of 133,000. Economists had been expecting a gain of just 60,000.

The unemployment rate edged down to 4.3% from 4.4%, coming in slightly better than forecasts.

Part of the upside surprise was driven by revisions to February’s data, which was initially reported as a smaller decline of 92,000 jobs, highlighting a deeper contraction than first estimated.

Despite the strong headline numbers, bitcoin remained largely unchanged in the immediate aftermath, continuing to trade around the $67,000 level.

Traditional markets showed modest movement. U.S. stock index futures stayed slightly in the red, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.2%, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose four basis points to 4.36%.

Recently, interest rate expectations have been driven less by domestic economic data and more by geopolitical developments and energy prices. Just last week, a surge in oil had led markets to price in the possibility of near-term rate hikes.

However, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled earlier this week that policymakers are unlikely to react aggressively to oil-driven inflation spikes. He noted that while higher energy prices can lift headline inflation in the short term, they can also weigh on economic growth, suggesting a more cautious approach to tightening.

Still, the latest jobs data points to underlying strength in the economy, potentially reviving the case for rate hikes in 2026 if momentum continues.