U.S. Employers Add 115,000 Jobs in April; Unemployment Rate Holds at 4.3%

U.S. employers added 115,000 jobs in April while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The gain followed a revised March increase of 185,000 jobs and came after a revised February decline of 156,000 jobs.

Private employers added 109,000 positions. The labor force shrank by 226,000 in April and the labor-force participation rate fell to 61.8 percent, its lowest level since October 2021, according to the household survey.

Healthcare added 37,000 jobs, transportation and warehousing added 30,000, retail gained 22,000 and social assistance rose by 17,000. The information sector lost 13,000 jobs, bringing total losses in that sector to 342,000 since November 2022. Federal government employment has declined by 348,000 jobs since November 2024.

Professional and business services shed 8,000 positions. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2 percent in April and 3.6 percent over the past year.

A broader unemployment measure that includes discouraged workers and those working part time for economic reasons rose to 8.2 percent. One day before the jobs report, the Labor Department said 200,000 people filed for weekly unemployment benefits, a slight increase from the prior week.

Revisions to prior months were mixed. The White House said the April jobs report exceeded expectations. The Federal Reserve cited slow job growth among reasons for holding interest rates steady last month.