--- title: "As Middle East Tensions Reignite Inflation, Tonight's Non-Farm Payrolls May Rebound Sharply!" type: "News" locale: "zh-CN" url: "https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281611652.md" description: "US March non-farm payroll data will be released tonight. The market expects employment to rebound strongly from February's contraction, with approximately 65,000 new jobs. While the end of strikes and improved weather support the data's recovery, the oil price volatility triggered by the Middle East conflict has increased inflation risks, making the Fed's interest rate cut prospects more complex. Policymakers are caught in a dual trade-off between labor market resilience and inflationary pressures" datetime: "2026-04-03T08:52:07.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281611652.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281611652.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/281611652.md) --- > 支持的语言: [English](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281611652.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/281611652.md) # As Middle East Tensions Reignite Inflation, Tonight's Non-Farm Payrolls May Rebound Sharply! US March non-farm employment data will be released tonight, with the market expecting a strong rebound from the significant contraction in February. However, the escalating situation in the Middle East is pushing up inflation risks, making the Federal Reserve's policy outlook increasingly complicated. **The market consensus anticipates 65,000 new non-farm jobs in March,** a substantial recovery from February's weak figure of a 92,000 decrease, with forecasts ranging from -16,000 to +150,000. Goldman Sachs expects an increase of 70,000, higher than the market consensus, attributing approximately 32,000 jobs to the end of strikes and improved weather; Barclays is more conservative, expecting an increase of 50,000. Meanwhile, March ADP employment data came in at 62,000, exceeding market expectations of 40,000, laying a certain foundation for tonight's data. More than a month since the outbreak of the Iran war, the continuous blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused violent fluctuations in oil prices, with inflation risks rising accordingly. Federal Reserve Governor Waller admitted that if not for this conflict, he might have leaned towards an interest rate cut after the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting; **he also warned that if oil prices remain high, they will permeate into core inflation, significantly narrowing the Fed's room to "look through" one-off shocks.** The Federal Reserve currently maintains its policy rate unchanged and is in a wait-and-see mode. The significance of tonight's data lies in its role as a key reference for the Federal Reserve to assess the resilience of the labor market. Amid renewed inflationary pressures due to geopolitical conflicts, the strength of the employment data will directly impact market expectations regarding the timing of interest rate cuts. ## Anticipated Strong Rebound, But Analysts Caution Against Revision Risks The core expectation for March non-farm employment is an increase of 65,000 jobs, a stark contrast to February's decrease of 92,000. Private sector employment is expected to rebound from -86,000 to +73,000, the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.4%, and wage growth is expected to increase by 0.3% month-on-month (previous: 0.4%), with the year-on-year growth rate remaining at 3.8%. **It is worth noting that analysts generally advise paying attention to revision data.** According to ING's analysis, January data may have been overestimated, and February data may have been underestimated. This two-way distortion reduces the reference value of single-month readings. ING maintains its expectation of 65,000 and points out that if corporate hiring had already stagnated in a relatively stable economic environment, the incentive for companies to expand recruitment would only weaken further with the rise in geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Forward-looking indicators show divergence. March ADP employment increased by 62,000, better than expected; initial jobless claims in the survey week fell to 205,000, below the expected 215,000; continuing jobless claims also slightly decreased from 1.833 million to 1.819 million. However, the ISM manufacturing employment sub-index slightly decreased from 48.8 to 48.7. Both the manufacturing and services employment sub-indices are in contractionary territory, indicating weak employer survey signals. ## End of Strikes and Improved Weather, Two Major Drivers Supporting the Rebound Goldman Sachs points out that two technical factors will provide substantial support for the March employment data. **First, the end of worker strikes.** The US Bureau of Labor Statistics strike report indicates that the end of strikes will contribute approximately 32,000 job increases to the March non-farm employment figure; **second, improved weather.** Severe weather in February had dragged down employment in climate-sensitive sectors by 38,000 people. With improved climate conditions in March, employment in related sectors is expected to recover. **Additionally, jobless claims data also constitute a positive signal.** In the March survey week, the average initial claims fell to 211,000 from 220,000 in February. Although the number of corporate layoffs announced by Challenger, Gray & Christmas increased by 12,000 month-on-month to 61,000, it remains within a relatively moderate range overall. ## Government Downsizing and AI Layoffs, Structural Impediments to Employment Goldman Sachs expects government employment to decrease by 5,000, with federal government employment decreasing by about 10,000, partially offset by an increase of 5,000 in state and local governments. The federal government's hiring freeze policy continues, expected to suppress government sector employment figures. **AI-driven layoffs in the tech sector also pose a potential drag.** Block announced plans to lay off about 40% of its employees, and the market is increasingly vigilant about the speed at which companies are replacing human labor with AI. Oracle laid off as many as 10,000 employees after massive AI investments, although it is not yet clear whether these layoffs are directly related to AI. Conference Board data shows that consumer evaluations of the current job market are largely unchanged—27.3% believe employment is "plentiful" (previous: 26.7%), and 21.5% believe it is "hard to find" (previous: 21.0%)—but expectations for future employment prospects have deteriorated: 15.4% expect future employment to increase (previous: 16.0%), and 27.9% expect it to decrease (previous: 26.2%). ## Fed on Hold, Inflation Concerns Trump Employment Considerations The Federal Reserve is currently maintaining its policy rate unchanged. Only M Miron, known for his dovish stance, dissented at the recent meeting; the majority of members generally agree that the current policy is in an "appropriate" position. Chairman Powell stated that a "considerable majority" of FOMC members are concerned about the "extremely low" level of employment growth. **The labor market, especially private sector employment, is being closely monitored, but employment risks have not yet dominated policy direction.** Of particular note is the change in the non-farm employment "breakeven point." Both Powell and Waller have suggested that, due to a significant reduction in undocumented immigration, this threshold may have approached zero—the reduction in immigration has both decreased the number of jobs (the numerator) and compressed labor supply (the denominator). Recent research from the St. Louis Fed estimates the breakeven point at 15,000 to 87,000, noting that "the wide range reflects the high uncertainty of immigration flows." Waller clearly stated that if the labor market weakens significantly in the second half of the year, he will support an interest rate cut; Williams expects the unemployment rate to fall slightly this year and next, and believes the labor market is currently sending "mixed signals." ## Continued Strait of Hormuz Blockade, Inflation Risk Becomes the Biggest Variable The Iran war has lasted for about a month, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused significant volatility in the oil market. Its potential impact on inflation and monetary policy remains highly uncertain. Fed Governor Schmid warned that inflationary pressures caused by rising oil prices may not be temporary and could have a moderate drag on economic growth. Waller also pointed out that if oil prices remain high, they will transmit to core inflation, limiting the Fed's ability to maintain an accommodative stance by "looking through temporary shocks." There have been some signs of de-escalation in diplomatic efforts recently. Trump stated that the new Iranian president has sought a ceasefire, and the US has indicated it would consider accepting once the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, adding that the US would withdraw from Iran "fairly quickly." The Iranian president stated that Iran has no intention of continuing the war and is willing to end the conflict on the condition of receiving security guarantees against further attacks. The progress of ceasefire negotiations will be a key observation window for oil price movements and the Fed's policy space, and its importance may be no less than that of tonight's non-farm data. ### 相关股票 - [Sprott GLD Miners Etf (SGDM.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/SGDM.US.md) - [VanEck Oil Refiners ETF (CRAK.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/CRAK.US.md) - [SPDR Gold Minishares (GLDM.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/GLDM.US.md) - [Roundhill Gold Miners Weeklypay ETF (GDXW.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/GDXW.US.md) - [Pro Ultr Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/UCO.US.md) - [iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners (RING.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/RING.US.md) - [VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/OIH.US.md) - [iShares US Oil & Gas Expl & Prod (IEO.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/IEO.US.md) - [VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/GDX.US.md) - [Us Gbl GLD & Met (GOAU.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/GOAU.US.md) - [Pro Ultrshrt Crude Oil (SCO.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/SCO.US.md) - [Abrdn Gold ETF Trust (SGOL.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/SGOL.US.md) - [VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/GDXJ.US.md) - [Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X (NUGT.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/NUGT.US.md) - [iShares US Oil Equip & Svcs (IEZ.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/IEZ.US.md) - [HSPC (603353.CN)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/603353.CN.md) - [VG Energy (VDE.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/VDE.US.md) - [iShares Gold Trust (IAU.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/quote/IAU.US.md) ## 相关资讯与研究 - [TRADING DAY-Oil Strait back up again](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281575673.md) - [Ryanair CEO sees oil prices falling soon, reports German magazine](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281494633.md) - [BREAKINGVIEWS-Oil-shortage fallout will ooze slowly but surely](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281544539.md) - [U.S. Gold Corp. 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