U.S. Employers Add 115,000 Jobs in April, Exceeding Expectations

U.S. employers added 115,000 jobs in April, nearly twice the 65,000 that forecasters had expected and the second straight month of stronger-than-expected hiring despite the economic shock from the Iran war. The unemployment rate remained at 4.3 percent, in line with expectations.

Revisions to prior months lowered February and March totals by a combined 16,000 jobs, resulting in an average monthly gain of 48,000 over the past three months. The figures come after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in late February following U.S. and Israeli strikes, triggering the largest disruption to global oil supplies in history.

Average U.S. gasoline prices surged past $4.50 a gallon this week, yet the conflict has not yet produced measurable damage in the American job market.

Healthcare added 37,000 jobs last month while retailers gained 22,000 and transportation and warehousing added 30,000. These increases helped offset losses elsewhere, including a decline of 2,000 manufacturing jobs. Manufacturers have cut 66,000 positions over the past year despite President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies aimed at reviving factory employment.

Federal government employment fell by another 9,000 jobs in April and is down 348,000, or 11.5 percent, since its peak in October 2024. The information sector shed 13,000 jobs while the number of people working part-time for economic reasons jumped by 445,000 to 4.9 million.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.2 percent from March and 3.6 percent from a year earlier, reaching $37.41.

Boomer retirements and Trump’s immigration crackdown have reduced the number of people competing for work, lowering the so-called break-even job growth rate needed to hold the unemployment rate steady to near zero. The labor force shrank in April as the number of unemployed workers rose.

The job market showed intermittent recovery signs after a weak 2025, when employers added an average of just 9,700 jobs per month. Growth has been uneven this year, with strong gains of 160,000 in January and 185,000 in March offset by a loss of 156,000 in February.

Over the past 12 months healthcare companies added 456,000 jobs while all other employers combined cut 205,000. Payroll processor ADP reported private employers added 109,000 jobs in April, the fastest pace since January 2025. A separate Labor Department measure showed gross hiring in March at its strongest level in more than two years.

Big tax refund checks this spring, stemming from Trump’s tax cut legislation last year, have given consumers more spending power and encouraged companies to hire in response to rising sales. Economists noted mixed signals including slow wage growth and fewer working-age people seeking employment.

" — Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics (BBC, May 2026) Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said job growth was likely to slow in coming months as recent survey data pointed to reduced hiring. He projected the unemployment rate could rise to 4.7 percent by year-end, potentially prompting the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in December.

The strong April report arrived as U.S. corporations posted solid quarterly results to start the year. The data reinforced views that the labor market remains stable even as heightened uncertainty from the war and elevated energy prices weigh on future momentum.