U.S. employers accelerated hiring in March, a surprising show of strength that analysts warned might be the high-water mark for the labor market as the Trump administration’s economic policies began to play out.

Employers added 228,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, a figure that was far more than expected and was up from a revised total of 117,000 in February. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, from 4.1%.

The data, based on surveys of households and businesses conducted in the second week of March, do not reflect the sweeping tariff announcement that rattled markets this week, or the full extent of the job cuts resulting from President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce.

Still, Trump was quick to seize on the report as proof that his economic agenda was working. In a post on social media Friday morning, he wrote: “GREAT JOB NUMBERS, FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED. IT’S ALREADY WORKING.”

March’s job gains were driven by hiring in health care and social assistance, which reported a combined gain of 78,000. The leisure and hospitality sectors recovered from a dip in January and February — attributed by some observers to bad weather — and posted a gain of 43,000 jobs. Retailers added 24,000, and transportation and warehousing reported a gain of 23,000.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at the accounting firm KPMG, said she was “pleasantly surprised” by Friday’s report, but she added that the impending repercussions of federal job cuts and tariffs would mean “this is likely to be the high-water mark.”

The Labor Department released revised employment numbers for January and February that trimmed the gains in those months by 45,000, clouding the picture of the labor market’s momentum.

“We are still expecting weakness,” Swonk said. “We are starting to see the layoff announcements mount.”

Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the consulting firm RSM, said the report did not reflect a rosy outlook for the labor market. “What we are really seeing is the calm before the storm,” he said.

The federal workforce declined by 4,000 in March, a slowdown from a revised drop of 11,000 in February. While the Trump administration had fired some 25,000 probationary employees, some of them have since been reinstated as the dismissals are challenged in court.