A better-than-expected U.S. jobs report for March brought renewed focus on some sector-specific exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.

Healthcare, transportation, and food retail are specific examples of how the labor market’s resilience is presenting selective opportunity in the face of wider skepticism about inflation and trade tensions.

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Health care remained a bedrock of job growth, adding 54,000 jobs during March. This was consistent with the industry’s 12-month average. Employment additions were dispersed across ambulatory services (+20,000), hospitals (+17,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+17,000).

Transportation and warehousing employment increased by 23,000 jobs, more than twice the 12-month average increase of 12,000. The majority of the gain was in couriers and messengers (+16,000) and truck transportation (+10,000), offset in part by a loss in warehousing and storage employment (-9,000).

Retail employment rose by 24,000 jobs in March, with food and beverage retailers adding 21,000 positions as workers returned from a strike. While retail hiring has remained largely flat over the past year, the March boost provides a short-term lift.

Invesco Food & Beverage ETF (NYSE:PBJ) provides access to 30 companies that produce and distribute food and beverage items. PBJ has 62 basis points of fee expense and the prospect of offering a defensive sector bet under conditions of macro uncertainty.

Though the jobs report is a sign of strength, it has qualifications. Unemployment expanded to 4.2%, just above the forecast 4.1%, because the labor force participation rate increased. Also, the mean hourly earnings expanded 0.3% from last month, but the year-over-year wage growth slowed to 3.8%, the lowest since July of 2024.

The positive news comes amid increased economic anxiety, with recently introduced tariffs by the Trump administration and retaliatory measures from China fueling worries over inflation and a slowdown.

Nevertheless, the resilience of the labor market in the core sectors provides a silver lining for shareholders. With specific exposure, ETFs such as XLV, XTN, and PBJ offer a method to ride sectoral momentum while weathering more general macroeconomic headwinds.

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