Jobs report April 2026
Job creation was better than expected in April as the U.S. labor market continues to defy expectations of a slowdown this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Non-farm payrolls increased by 115,000 seasonally adjusted for the month; That’s lower than the 185,000 generated in an unusually strong March, but better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 55,000.
The fact that the unemployment rate remains at 4.3% is further evidence that the labor market has reached a point where only modest job creation is needed to keep the unemployment level stable, given very little growth in the labor force.
Average hourly earnings, another closely watched measure of labor market health, came in lower than expected, up 0.2% month-over-month and 3.6% year-over-year, compared to forecasts of 0.3% and 3.8%, respectively.
While stock market futures maintained their gains following the announcement, Treasury yields fell.
“I’ve been reviewing the report to find issues, and it’s been pretty solid this month,” said Dan North, senior economist for North America at Allianz. “It must be said that the numbers are generally not impressive. I think they still point to a softening in the job market, but certainly not a collapse.”
Following recent trends, healthcare led the way with 37,000 new positions, while many other industries also saw gains.
Transportation and warehousing increased by 30,000, retail increased by 22,000 and benefits increased by 17,000.
On the downside, information services lost 13,000 jobs, according to the BLS; This is part of an ongoing trend that has seen a 342,000 job decline in the category since November 2022 as AI hits the industry. This equated to a loss of 11% of jobs over the period.
A broader measure that includes discouraged workers and people taking part-time jobs for economic reasons rose 0.2 points to 8.2%. The household survey the bureau uses to calculate the unemployment rate showed a decline of 226,000 workers, with the participation rate falling to 61.8%, the lowest level since October 2021.
The so-called real unemployment rate has largely been driven by an increase in the number of part-time workers for economic reasons, often referred to as unemployed. The level increased by 445,000 to 4.9 million.
Revisions in previous reports were mixed: March’s number increased by 7,000, while February’s number fell further, falling 23,000 to 156,000. The first report shows job losses in February at 92,000.
The report comes at a sensitive time for the Federal Reserve, where there is an unusual level of disagreement among officials over monetary policy.
While layoffs remain at their lowest levels in recent years, economists point to slowing hiring as the main source of the cooling of the labor market. While hard data is strong, sentiment indicators suggest that hiring plans are sluggish in both the manufacturing and service sectors.
Last week, the central bank voted 8-4 in favor of keeping the benchmark interest rate steady; this was the highest level of “no” votes since 1992. Officials largely agreed on the decision to make this move, but disagreed on communicating where the policy might head from here. Opponents largely expressed the view that the next move could be higher or lower, depending on how conditions develop.
Politics were also complicated by the Iran war and tariffs. The Fed is expected to have a new chairman soon as former Chairman Kevin Warsh awaits confirmation from the Senate.
Markets expect rates to remain unchanged throughout the year as the economy struggles with stubbornly high prices and the labor market remains resilient despite being off the rapid hiring pace of previous years.
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