Hiring was led by healthcare, transportation, warehousing, and retail.
The US labor market demonstrated unexpected resilience in April. The economy added 115,000 jobs, nearly double what analysts projected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported.
Hiring was led by healthcare, transportation, warehousing, and retail. Driven by demand from the aging US population, healthcare has been adding thousands of jobs. It added around 456,000 jobs over the past year.
Strong performance in the retail and transportation sectors suggests steady discretionary spending despite rising gasoline prices.
The BLS data also showed the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%.
Combined with robust hiring in March, April delivered the biggest two-month payroll increase since 2024.
Despite the growth in hiring, analysts note that progress has been uneven this year. While January saw 160,000 new jobs and last month added 185,000 new roles, employers cut 156,000 jobs in February.
Even with unemployment holding steady, many workers are still struggling.
Pay growth edged up to 3.6%, missing expectations and lagging inflation forecasts.
Labor force participation fell to its weakest level since late 2021.
Underemployment and discouraged-worker levels rose to their highest since December.