In a solid jobs report for March, the economy added 228,000 jobs, maintaining a historically low unemployment rate of 4.2 percent. Despite concerns surrounding President Trump’s trade policy and the introduction of new tariffs, Brean Capital economists suggest that this strong report indicates continued economic expansion. However, they caution that the current momentum may not withstand potential trade shocks. Average hourly earnings rose by three-tenths of a percent, contributing to a year-over-year wage increase of 3.8 percent among private sector workers. Additionally, about 232,000 workers entered the labor force last month, signaling a slight increase in workforce participation. While federal employment saw a decline of 4,000 jobs, the overall government sector added 19,000 positions, suggesting resilience amidst trade tensions.
In a recent report from CompTIA, tech hiring activity showed mixed signals in March 2025. The report revealed a decline of over eight thousand jobs in the tech sector, with significant losses primarily in tech services and telecommunications. Despite this, the tech unemployment rate slightly decreased to three point one percent, while overall employment across all sectors fell by an estimated twenty-nine thousand positions. New job postings for tech roles saw a modest increase, totaling more than two hundred thirteen thousand, resulting in nearly four hundred seventy-eight thousand active tech job postings last month. Notably, positions requiring skills in artificial intelligence accounted for twenty-one percent of these postings. CompTIA’s analysis indicates that California, North Carolina, and Washington experienced the highest increases in tech job postings, with Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose leading the metropolitan markets in growth.
Why do we care?
Despite this positive macroeconomic data, the tech sector saw a decline of over 8,000 jobs, primarily in tech services and telecommunications. This signals that IT services companies could face challenges in maintaining staffing levels or recruiting top talent. And finding qualified talent is increasingly difficult.
aDespite the caution, the long-term trend toward digital transformation remains strong. Clients may simply delay rather than canceling tech projects outright, particularly with the overarching uncertainty.