U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose last week before Iran, Israel and the U.S. announced a two-week ceasefire deal that injected a degree of optimism into a still-clouded global economic picture.

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, suggesting the labor market remains stable and likely giving the Federal Reserve scope to hold interest rates steady while monitoring inflation risks from the conflict in the Middle East.

The Labor Department released March's jobs report Friday morning, providing a fuller picture of the state of the job market just as the US-Israel war on Iran began to weigh on the global economy.

U.S. job growth rebounded more than expected in March as a strike by healthcare workers ended and temperatures warmed up, and the unemployment rate

US job growth rebounded in March and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, suggesting the labor market was stabilizing as the Iran war began.

WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers added a surprisingly strong 178,000 new jobs last month, rebounding from a dismal February. And the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%.

As of February 2026, the overall unemployment rate in the United States currently remains at 4.4%, a slight rise from the previous month by 0.1 percentage point. The overall unemployment rate represents a percentage of individuals in the labor force who are actively seeking employment but currently do not possess a job.

Long-term unemployment is defined as six months or more without work. The number of Americans in that group is up more than 300,000 over the past year, even as the overall jobless rate holds at 4.3%.