ECONOMY

U.S. payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, more than expected; unemployment at 4.3%

PUBLISHED FRI, APR 3 20268:30 AM EDTUPDATED

KEY POINTS

• Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 178,000 in March, a reversal from the 133,000 decline in February and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 59,000.

• The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%, though that was largely from a sharp reduction in the labor force.

• Wages also rose less than expected, with average hourly earnings up just 0.2% for the month and 3.5% from a year ago. The annual increase was the lowest since May 2021.

• As has been the case,health care was responsible for much of the growth, with the sector adding 76,000 jobs.==

The U.S. labor market bounced back in March, withjob creation much stronger than expectedthough the broader picture of a slow-growth labor market held intact.

=Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 178,000 during the month, a reversal from the 133,000 decline in February and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 59,000==, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. February’s number was revised down by 41,000 while January was revised up by 34,000 to 160,000, putting the three-month average around 68,000.

The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%,though that was largely from a sharp reduction in the labor force.

“The bottom line is March was somewhat encouraging, but it’s been a rocky year for the labor market with almost no hiring since last April,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “The March data will keep the Federal Reserve on hold, but no one is declaring victory yet. It’s likely to be a tough spring for job seekers.”

As has been the case, health care was responsible for much of the growth, with the sector adding 76,000 jobs. A strike at health-care provider Kaiser Permanente in February hit the sector. The BLS said ambulatory health care services rose by 54,000, with 35,000 coming from the strike workers returning.

Construction saw an increase of 26,000, while transportation. and warehousing posted a gain of 21,000.

On the downside, the federal government saw a loss of 18,000, while financial activities lost 15,000.

Though the unemployment rate posted a decline, the move largely came from a decline of 396,000 in the labor force. The share of working-age Americans in the labor force fell to 61.9%, its lowest since November 2021.

The survey of households, which is used to compute the unemployment rate, showed 64,000 fewer people holding jobs. An alternative unemployment figure that counts discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons edged up to 8%. Long-term unemployment continued to be elevated, though the average weeks of unemployment fell to 25.3.

Wages also rose less than expected, with average hourly earnings up just 0.2% for the month and 3.5% from a year ago. Economists had expected respective readings of 0.3% and 3.7%. The annual increase was the lowest since May 2021. Hours worked declined 34.2, down one-tenth from February.

The U.S. stock market was closed in observance of the Good Friday holiday.Stock market futures were slightly negative following the report. The bond market continued to trade, with Treasury yields higher ahead of an early close.

The report comes amid a changing labor market, with the economy needing to add fewer jobs to keep the broader employment picture stable. The St. Louis Federal Reserve estimated recently that payroll growth of as little as 15,000 could keep the unemployment rate steady.

Federal Reserve officials have been weighing the jobs data as they plot their intentions regarding interest rates. Most policymakers have been content to watch the data unfold and take a patient approach,though a few have pushed for interest rate cuts to head off labor market weakness.

With inflation well above the Fed’s target and energy prices surging as the Iran war continues, markets expect little movement from the central bank this year. Following the jobs report, futures pointed to virtually no probability of a move at the April 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee meeting and a 77.5%probability the Fed will stay on hold through the end of the year, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/03/jobs-report-march-2026-.html

(NBC desperately wanting to continue the lie about 2020, you can tell by their hateful and stupid headline!)

Colorado court throws out _election denier Tina Peters__' 9-year sentence for tampering with election equipment

The state appeals court is asking the trial court to resentence Peters.

4/2/26

The Colorado Court of Appeals has thrown outelection denierTina Peters' nine-year prison sentence, finding that the lower court violated her First Amendment right to free speech related to her allegations of election fraud. (NBC fails to say, they sent it back to hideous judge that punished her, to only reduce her sentence, not to kick it out permanently.)

“The trial court’s comments about Peters’s belief in the existence of 2020 election fraud went beyond relevant considerations for her sentencing,” a three-judge panel wrote in a 77-page opinion that also upheld her conviction on charges including official misconduct in connection with a security breach of Mesa County’s voting system. Peters is the former Mesa County clerk.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/colorado-court-throws-election-denier-tina-peters-sentence-trump-rcna266421

The Hormuz Letter

@HormuzLetter

Both pilots reportedly already extracted safely by a US-Israeli rescue team. Debris confirms F-15E, not the F-35 Iran initially claimed. We broke this down earlier:

Quote

The Hormuz Letter

@HormuzLetter

·1h

BREAKING: A US F-15E Strike Eagle has reportedly been shot down over Iran. Both pilots ejected and were reportedly extracted safely from Iranian territory.

Iran initially claimed it was an F-35, though debris images confirm it's an F-15E.

CENTCOM has not commented.

If confirmed

9:05 AM · Apr 3, 2026

·4,089

https://x.com/HormuzLetter/status/2040053126971990140?s=20

Earlier report before pilots were extracted:

Iran shoots down U.S. F-15 fighter jet

Dylan Malyasov

Apr 3, 2026

Key Points

• Iran released footage it said showed a downed U.S. fighter over its territory, with wreckage analysis indicating the aircraft was an F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron rather than the initially claimed F-35

• The incident appears to be the first confirmed combat loss of a crewed U.S. Air Force aircraft over Iranian territory since the start of the war, highlighting the growing risks of strike operations in contested airspace

• Iran said it had shot down a United States Air Force fighter jet over its territory, and footage released by Iranian channels appears to show the wreckage of an F-15E Strike Eagle from the U.S. Air Force’s 494th Fighter Squadron.

• Iranian outlets initially claimed the aircraft was an F-35, but a closer review of the debris shown in the video points to a different aircraft. Visible sections of the airframe, including parts of the fuselage and external mounting points, match the layout of the F-15E rather than the stealth design of the F-35.

If confirmed, the loss would be the first known combat loss of a crewed U.S. Air Force aircraft over Iranian territory since the war began.

The video released by Iran showed scattered wreckage that analysts say is consistent with the Strike Eagle, a twin-engine fighter used for long-range strike missions and air-to-air combat. The F-15E remains one of the U.S. Air Force’s primary aircraft for attacking defended ground targets while retaining the ability to engage enemy aircraft.

https://defence-blog.com/iran-shoots-down-u-s-f-15-fighter-jet/

Lib Legal Pundit Discovers How Poisonous Bluesky Is After His Criticism of SCOTUS 'Conversion Therapy' Ruling Wasn't Woke Enough for Radicals 4/2/26 1/2

Mark Joseph Stern is suitably woke.

He writes for Slate. He’s a legal analyst who uses the term “conversion therapy”when discussing any sort of therapy that might deal with someone’s discomfort over same-sex desire or gender dysphoria from a religious perspective. He wrote an article titled,“How in the World Was the Supreme Court’s Awful Conversion Therapy Ruling 8–1?”

He still managed to get pilloried on Bluesky, the leftist alternative to X where they eat their own via increasingly impossible purity tests.

Now, in case you missed this “awful conversion therapy ruling,” every justice aside from Ketanji Brown Jackson (natch) found in a Wednesday decision that a lower court did not apply appropriate scrutiny to a Colorado law that banned, among other things, talk therapy that might deal with people struggling with same-sex attraction or gender identity from a religiously orthodox perspective.

Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor, challenged the 2019 statute on First Amendment grounds. Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said that the law “censors speech based on viewpoint” and that a lower court must apply strict scrutiny, or the most exacting constitutional standard, to examining the law and what it covers.

“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety. Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same,” Gorsuch wrote.

“But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”

Stern, in his write-up of the case in Slate, called the decision “profound hypocrisy masquerading as principle,” using a circular appeal to authority, among other arguments.

Almost 30 states have curbed or outlawed “therapy” that seeks to change minors’ sexual orientation or gender identity—that is, to make them stop being gay, bisexual, or transgender. These measures take the form of professional licensure rules, subjecting therapists to fines (and eventually loss of license) if they try to “turn” an LGBTQ+ minor straight or cisgender. Nonprofessional counselors, including family and clergy, can still engage in this conduct, as can professional counselors outside of their paid practice. Every major American medical association to consider this issue has come out in opposition to “conversion therapy” for youth and endorsed its prohibition. …

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court sided against Colorado, reversing the appeals court’s decision. Writing for every justice but Jackson, Gorsuch declared that Chiles’ talk therapy is “the quintessential form of protected speech.” He rejected the state’s argument that speech carries fewer First Amendment protections when delivered as a medical treatment. Chiles’ therapy is not conduct at all, Gorsuch wrote, but pure “expression.” And Colorado’s law censors that expression “based on viewpoint,” allowing her to affirm LGBTQ+ patients’ identities but not to critique or reject them. Thus, the state “seeks to silence a viewpoint she wishes to express.” This kind of “viewpoint discrimination,” Gorsuch concluded, is “presumptively unconstitutional,” and must survive strict scrutiny, meaning it is “narrowly tailored to serve compelling state interests.”

However, he did note that Gorsuch did not ” declare that Colorado’s law does not pass strict scrutiny and therefore violates the First Amendment” but “walked right up to that point, he stepped back, and sent the case back down to the appeals court, directing it to apply the test instead. He strongly implied that the Colorado ban, and others like it, would not survive this review ‘as applied’ to talk therapy. But he left the question open for the appeals court to answer.”

(https://www.westernjournal.com/lib-legal-pundit-discovers-poisonous-bluesky-criticism-scotus-conversion-therapy-ruling-wasnt-woke-enough-radicals/

>>24459622

2/2

And that’s where his problem began on Bluesky. See, he also pointed this out on the left-bubble app: “This decision applies only to talk therapy, not forms of ‘conversion therapy’ that involve physical interventions (which are really abuse),” he wrote. “It does not strike down Colorado’s law on its face. Actually, it does not invalidate anything—it just holds that this kind of law is subject to strict scrutiny.”

Which was true. And the reactions were, uh, less than stellar to the truth:

WARNING: The following posts contain vulgar language that some readers will find offensive.

“As someone who went through conversion talk therapyI’d kindly like to show Mark to the nearest cliff’s edge,” wrote one user.

“Mark out here thinks that my parents abusing, raping, and killing me in the process of ‘their talking’ is fine because freeze peach or some liberal s***,”said another, who apparently thinks talking can kill and/or rape you.

“Mark, ‘really abuse’ is gonna be all your [sic] known for now. Your epitaph,” one of the nicer (if not entirely grammatically correct) responses read.

Stern tried to defend himself, which is seldom a good decision with this crowd:

But he finally conceded that the woke rabblement had won.

“FYI: I am going to stop summarizing Supreme Court decisions on here as they come down. One comment has been plucked out of context of all my reporting, misread, andused as the basis of a mean-spirited pile-on. I am not going to subject myself to this. If this was your goal, then congratulations,” he wrote.

NARRATOR: “That was, in fact, their goal.”

You see, Bluesky is not about thoughtful discussion among a left-leaning crowd. It’s a crazy 30-man pro-wrestling free-for-all, and the craziest heel always wins. Stern, for all his daftness, is not that crazy — not, at least, by the standards of Bluesky, which chases off anyone who won’t join the primal fray or appease it.

https://www.westernjournal.com/lib-legal-pundit-discovers-poisonous-bluesky-criticism-scotus-conversion-therapy-ruling-wasnt-woke-enough-radicals/

Bluesky allows and promotes hate filled strange insanity of the most arrogant and broken in our society!

Libs of TikTok

@libsoftiktok

==BREAKING: A Leftist was SUSPENDED from @DoorDash

after he posted a video saying he'd destroy your food if you support Trump, and he’s now reduced to begging for likes on social media==

FAFO

6:28 PM · Mar 30, 2026

·642.3K

https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2038745261984358679?s=20

>>24459652

He just makes it worse and now liberals won’t post on his thread! KEK

Husband of Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen charged in her killing, police say

By Steven Yablonski

Updated on: April 2, 2026

The family of Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen released a statement after she was found dead inside her home on Wednesday, and her husband is now facing charges in connection to her death.

"On behalf of our entire family, we are deeply saddened to share the passing of my beloved sister Nancy Metayer Bowen," the family said in a statement on her Instagram page. "She was not only a cherished member of our family, but also a dedicated public servant who committed her life to improving the lives of others.

The family went on to say that Nancy Metayer Bowen believed in bringing people together and working tirelessly to create a positive change in the community.

"While many knew her as a leader and advocate, we knew her as a sister, a daughter, and a friend whose warmth and laughter filled every room. Her legacy will live on not only in the policies she helped to shape, but in the countless lives she touched. We are grateful for the outpouring of support and kindness during this difficult time. As we mourn her loss, we also celebrate her remarkable life and the lasting impact she leaves behind.

Stephen Bowen charged with premeditated murder in Nancy Metayer Bowen's killing

The incident unfolded on Wednesday when Coral Springs police said they were called to Nancy Metayer Bowen's home just after 10 a.m.

When they arrived, they said they found her dead and determined that the incident was domestic in nature.

Her husband, Stephen Bowen, was taken into custody and wascharged with premediated murder and tampering with fabricated evidence.

The chief of police did not describe her injuries but said there were no other suspects being sought in connection to her death.

Support grows as community mourns Nancy Metayer Bowen

Florida politicians are reacting to Nancy Metayer-Bowen's death.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz posted on X: "I'm in shock. I was just with her on Saturday. She just buried her brother. She was about to announce she was running for Congress."

He also called her "one of the nicest people" he's worked with and that she was "always fighting for her community" and "always pushing to help."

He finished the post with "She had such a future. This is terrible."

State Rep. Angie Nixon also issued a statement, saying she was in "total shock" and is "devastated," calling the Nancy Metayer Bowen her friend, colleague and sister in the movement.

"She was a kind and caring person, and a true leader in her community. This is an immense loss for all of us, and the world is darker without her. I am keeping Nancy's family in my thoughts and prayers."

Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen expressed sadness over her killing.

"She served her community with dedication and heart, and the impact of her dedicated public service will be felt across Broward County," Bogen said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/coral-springs-vice-mayor-nancy-metayer-bowen-killing-stephen-bowen/

Operation Save Orbán: Trump deploys Vance to Hungary

U.S. President Donald Trump gives a final heave to try and keep under-pressure Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in power.

APRIL 3, 2026 BY MILENA WÄLDE

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS GOING ALL IN TO SAVE ITS NO. 1 ALLY IN EUROPE.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is set to land in Budapest on Tuesdayfor a high-stakes intervention that underscores how far the White House is willing to go to shore up Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán before the April 12 national election.

Orbán is flailing in the polls, as anti-corruption (anti corruption people are totally corrupted by the EU), opposition candidate Péter Magyar surges ahead in his bid to claim power in Budapest after 16 years of leadership by the ruling Fidesz party.

Vance’s visit, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, was framed by Hungarian government spokespersonZoltán Kovács as a celebration of deep ties between the two countries. “The visit highlights the strong and enduring alliance between Hungary and the United States,” he wrote on X on Friday.

The outspoken U.S.vice president will hold talks with the MAGA-allied Orbán and then give a public address, during a trip that directly involves Washingtonin the final stretch of a heated election campaign.

It echoes an American effort in Argentina last year, where U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary ScottBessent intervened to support President Javier Milei ahead of national midterm elections, to keep a key hemispheric, ideological ally in a strong position.

In multiple speeches and remarks over the 15 months since President Donald Trump returned to office, seniorU.S. officials have made clear they believe Europe is on the wrong political path, and that the nationalist-populist Orbán is a model for the continent to follow.

The Hungarian prime minister has promoted his vision of illiberal democracy, while frequently clashing with Brussels over the EU’s direction on migration, Russia and minority rights. (The EU is kicking him out because he will not approve $50 billion or more going Zelensky and Ukraine. He’s the only one saying no more loans to Ukraine.)

Vance himself delivered an blistering speech at the Munich Security Conference in February last year, accusing European leaders of ignoring the will of their people, overturning elections, ignoring religious freedoms and not acting to halt illegal migration.

The Trump administration has been tight with Orbán since the U.S. president’s first term in office, and that now extends to a final pre-election push to keep him in power.

U.S. Secretary of State MarcoRubio declared a “golden age” in relations between the countries during a February visit, a signal of Hungary’s growing importanceto the U.S. as relations with other European capitals fray.

While top Fidesz officials were hyped about Vance’s Hungary visit, not everyone is so impressed.

Magyar warned the visit could come with strings attached, hinting at undisclosed military arrangements and suggesting Washington may seek concessions in exchange for its support.

“Both Eastern and Western aid have a price,” he said, raising questions about what Hungary might be asked to give in return, andreferencing ongoing reports that Russian contacts with senior Orbán officials run deeper than previously known.

The campaign has been roiled by those claims.Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó admitted this week he had been in contact with officials in Moscow as EU ministers weighed fresh sanctions on Kremlin allies, with reports suggesting Budapest pushed to water down measures targeting Russian elites and oil shipments.

https://www.politico.eu/article/operation-save-viktor-orban-us-donald-trump-deploys-jd-vance-hungary/

Catherine Herridge

@C__Herridge

NEW: @SecWar has asked Gen. Randy George, the Army Chief of Staff, to step down.

A covid vaccine injured soldier says Gen.George "ignored" her case until our investigation exposed military records linking her three heart attacks to the mRNA vaccine.

At the age of 24, @StancikKaroline’s heart injuries were so severe she needed a pacemaker.

During the Biden Administration, Stancik was wrongly throw off orders and lost her military medical insurance.

After our investigation, Stancik was finally medically retired and received some back pay.

Stancik says she is still working with the @DeptVetAffairs to resolve her medical debt.

7:36 PM · Apr 2, 2026

·1M

https://x.com/C__Herridge/status/2039849593202974729?s=20

March Jobs Report Triples Expectations – 178,000 Net Jobs Gained

April 3, 2026 | Sundance |

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) has released the March employment report [DATA HERE]reflecting gains of 186,000 private sector jobs, with another 8,000 federal government jobs eliminated. Net gain 178,000 jobs.

Forecasters had anticipated around 63,000 net jobs gained:the actual result triples expectations.

[BLS Report – Table B]

This is a challenging time to use data to estimate overall employment strength,mainly due to the repatriation efforts underway that are removing illegal alien workers from the labor force.

As deportation efforts continue against the black-market workforce, in combination with targeting efforts toward fraudulent ‘mismatched’ social security records used to gain unlawful -albeit visible- market employment, it becomes challenging to quantify net realized job gains.

Theoverall goal is to remove the illegal alien workers, reestablish organic job market pressures to increase wages and pull American workers from the sidelines back into the labor market.

Removing illegal workers drives up real wages, that should (re)incentivize the labor market.

As these efforts continue, we are seeing wide variances, upward and downward swings, depending on the collection timing.

One of thepositive aspects. during this employment cycleis the reduction in the overall federal labor force. Overall, in thepast year, President Trump has removed 271,000 federal jobsmore than reversing all of the govt jobs added during Joe Biden’s term in office. This trend should continue.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/March-2026-Jobs-Report.jpg

(It’s weird NBC’s report 1/2 negative from the stock market)

Bondi’s Replacement is Important, But Not as Important as Perceived

April 2, 2026 | Sundance1/2

In a two-week period right after the 2024 election,the most energy expended by the transition team putting a cabinet together was toward Main Justice or the Dept of Justice. As a consequence, those around Lutnick and Wiles spent an incredible amount of time thinking about the Attorney General pick.

Following an insider discussion, I spoke with several people about positions and appointments, focused onpointing out that the transition’s priorities were misplaced. The AG needed to besomeone with exceptional moral character, capable of gathering informationand presenting it for public consumption, with the option of supporting criminal referrals if necessary.

The Attorney General wasn’t going to be the tip of the spear in any operation to confront the Deep State, because if Main Justice wanted to confront Lawfarethey needed to confront the Intelligence Community first.

The IC controls all of the activity within the Dept of Justice.

Read that again for emphasis. For the issuesof greatest importance, the Intelligence Community controlsall of the activity within Main Justice.The IC is in controlof the source material.The IC is above the DOJ. If youdon’t strategize a confrontation with the IC first, it doesn’t matter what you do with the Dept of Justice.

The best example I could reference at the time was the Mar-a-Lago documents case and Judge Aileen Cannon. In that example the Executive branch was targeting Trump through the DOJ/FBI, and representingthe Judicial branch Judge Cannon was the firewall ensuring the appropriate administration of justice.

Trump’s defense, through Cannon, pushed back against the DOJ (Jack Smith) while Smith leveraged all his Lawfare tools back against Cannon. You might remember the “classified document” issue went to the 11th CCA.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the government position that any documents defined as “classified” by the executive branch that claimed, “national security,”should not be disclosed to the defendant, Trump. The 11th CCA said when it comes to matters of national security, the judicial branch must defer to the determinations of the executive.

Basically, if the intelligence community decides certain information is tied to national securityand labels it as classified for the DOJ,that decision can’t be challenged. The U.S. Supreme Court has backed this view. As a result, when it comes to national security issues,the judicial branch has to defer to the executive, giving the IC significant control over the DOJ.

If you drag former CIA Director John Brennan into court and Brennan’s lawyers argue ‘national security’ as a defense against indictment, inquiry or questioning,it’s not the DOJ(Attorney General) who matters –it’s the ‘national security’ determination of the Intelligence Community (Tulsi Gabbard) who controls the outcome.

Over and over, I kept emphasizing this point.If you want to hold the Spygate/Russiagate folks accountable, it’s not going to be the DOJ who matter; not directly.It is the Intelligence Community that matters.

If you seek accountability, and if you want to stop Lawfare from exploiting the silo defenses,it’s the IC that matters; not the Dept of Justice.

The transition team was putting emphasis on the wrong syllable. Remember, my emphasis was on the need for institutional accountability on Spygateand Russiagate,and the DOJ is a tool toward the goal but not the ultimate weapon.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/04/02/bondis-replacement-is-important-but-not-as-important-as-perceived/