On March 27, last week, the number of new unemployment benefit claims in the United States decreased, and the unemployment rate seemed to remain stable in March. The low layoff rate mitigated the impact of significant hiring slowdown, maintaining a solid foundation for the labor market and keeping economic expansion on track. However, Trump's aggressive trade policies and ambitious efforts to drastically reduce the size of the federal government through significant spending cuts and massive layoffs cast a shadow over the economy.

Although the number of federal government employees applying for unemployment compensation did not increase significantly, the number of applicants in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (including parts of neighboring Maryland and Virginia) rose. This likely reflects layoffs among contractors and other personnel dependent on government funding. A survey released on Tuesday by the World Federation of Large Enterprises showed that consumers' perception of the labor market slightly improved in March, with economists expecting the unemployment rate to remain stable at 4.1% this month. (Jinshi)