The U.S. Job Market Added More Jobs Than Expected in April

BlockBeats News, May 2nd, U.S. April Job Growth Strong, Unemployment Rate Holds Steady, indicating that the uncertainty of Trump's trade policy has not had a significant impact on hiring plans. Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday showed that after downward revisions to data from the previous two months, nonfarm payrolls increased by 177,000 in April. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%.

The report indicates that the labor market continues to cool gradually, suggesting that businesses are facing high uncertainty from tariffs and financial market turbulence, but have not significantly altered their hiring plans. Most economists expect the impact of punitive tariffs to become apparent in the coming months.

Job growth in April was broad-based, with employment gains led by the healthcare, transportation, and warehousing industries. Manufacturing employment declined as the sector saw its largest contraction since 2020. Federal government employment declined for the third consecutive month. The labor force participation rate rose to 62.6% in April. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 (also known as prime-age workers) increased to its highest level in seven months.

Economists widely expect that as economic uncertainty leads to a halt in expansion plans, layoffs will increase in the coming months. (Sina Finance)