Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, March 2026

The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as “payroll employment” in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—edged down by 31,800 (-0.2%) in March, bringing the cumulative decline since February to 69,900 (-0.4%). On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up slightly (+23,700; +0.1%) in March.