Hiring was surprisingly strong in April for the second month in a row, signaling the labor market is withstanding pressures from higher energy costs amid the Iran war for now.
US employers added 115,000 jobs in April – about twice the amount analysts had expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%.
“The economy is so much better than what the doom crew has been saying,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, said in a note Friday.
“There are a lot of headwinds – higher oil prices, sticky inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates – and yet the labor market is adding jobs, GDP is growing and corporate profits are expanding at a rapid pace.”
Analysts said the upbeat report will likely keep the Federal Reserve on hold when it comes to interest-rate cuts as they shift their attention to the impact of surging energy costs on inflation.
Revisions to the previous two months lowered total job growth by 16,000 jobs. Job growth in March was revised upward to 185,000. February’s losses increased to 156,000.
But results from month-to-month have been especially volatile, meaning the last three months have averaged just 48,000 jobs – what is usually considered an anemic pace of job growth.
Under the surface, the labor market showed some signs of strain. While the unemployment rate remained steady, the number of unemployed workers rose and the labor force actually shrank – a result of President Trump’s intense migrant deportation agenda.
The number of people employed part-time for economic reasons – meaning they couldn’t secure full-time work or had their hours slashed – jumped by 445,000 to 4.9 million in April.
Job-seekers are facing lower demand from employers as artificial intelligence helps companies cut costs and economic uncertainty keeps firms from hiring, creating one of the harshest job markets for recent college graduates in years.
But layoffs have also remained low, and average hourly earnings jumped by 6 cents in April to $37.41 – up 3.6% over the past year.
The labor market saw gains in healthcare, transportation and warehousing and retail trade in April.
Healthcare employment continued to shine as a bright spot in the economy, adding 37,000 jobs – in line with the average monthly gain of 32,000 over the past 12 months.
Transportation and warehousing employment grew by 30,000 – though the industry is down by 105,000 jobs since hitting a peak in February 2025.
Retail trade in general merchandise, building materials and garden equipment added 22,000 jobs. The gains were partially offset by losses in department stores and electronics retailers.
The social assistance industry also added 17,000 jobs.
Federal government employment continued to sink, losing 9,000 jobs in April. The sector is down by 348,000 jobs – or 11.5% – since hitting a peak in October 2024, following an intense cost-slashing agenda from Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative.
Information was also a sore spot, shedding 13,000 jobs. The sector is down by 342,000 jobs – or 11% – since its most recent peak in November 2022.
