US economy adds 178,000 jobs, unemployment rate falls to 4.3% in surprise turnaround

The US economy added 178,000 jobs in March, soaring past expectations, the Labor Department said Friday.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a gain of 65,000 jobs, reversing February’s surprise drop of 95,000 positions amid a massive strike of healthcare workers. The unemployment rate for the month edged down to 4.3%.

This story will be updated.