US Economy Adds 115,000 Jobs in April; 3-Month Average Falls to 48,000

The US economy created 115,000 jobs in April, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported four days before May 12 2026. 3 percent. The figures marked the second consecutive month of job growth beating economists' forecasts even as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran drove up gasoline prices and created broader economic uncertainty.

Non-farm payrolls had fallen by 156,000 in February before rising by 185,000 in March. Revisions to those March and February figures resulted in average job growth of 48,000 over the last three months. That pace aligns with the breakeven rate needed to absorb new entrants to the workforce.

Job growth was particularly strong in the retail and transportation and warehousing sectors in April. Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics, said both sectors gave relatively positive signals about the health of discretionary spending despite the hit to consumers' purchasing power from higher gasoline prices.

He noted mixed signals elsewhere, including slow wage growth and an overall contraction in the jobs market with fewer working-age people seeking employment.

"All that being said, this was a positive employment report that reinforces the view that the labour market is stable and potentially even accelerating," Ryan said. Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, offered a more cautious outlook. 7% by the end of the year.

Tombs added that the Federal Reserve is expected to begin cutting interest rates from December. The better-than-expected figures helped lift major US stock indexes on the day of release.

8 percent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat. 46 percent on May 11 2026. The index is up about 16 percent since the end of March. The US stock market recovered all its Iran war–linked losses and kept on rising.

26. It argued that despite the Iran war, economic fundamentals justify a rising market. The White House described April's job figures as "another sign that the American economy remains on a solid trajectory under President Trump".