Job growth accelerated by 428,000 in April, more than expected as jobs picture stays strong

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the U.S. economy added slightly more jobs than expected in April.

The nonfarm payrolls grew by 428,000 for the month. The unemployment rate was slightly higher than expected. The downwardly revised count for March was the same as the April total.

The average hourly earnings for the month were a bit below the 0.4% estimate, but they still continued to grow. Earnings were up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis, but still below the pace of inflation.

The real unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons, rose to 7%.

The labor force participation rate fell for the month to 62.2%, the lowest of the year, as the labor force contracted by 363,000.

78,000 jobs were added in leisure and hospitality. The unemployment rate for the sector plummeted to 4.8%, its lowest since September, after peaking at 39.3% in April 2020. The average hourly earnings for the sector increased in the month and are up from a year ago.

Other big gainers were manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, professional and business services, financial activities and health care. Retail added 29,000 due to gains in food and beverage stores.

The report's details were not as strong.

The survey of households showed a decline of 353,000, leaving the level 761,000 short of where it was in February 2020.

Stock futures moved lower as Wall Street digests the report.

The Federal Reserve's current path of interest rate increases is likely to be unaffected by the report. The central bank will increase its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point in order to stamp out price increases that are running at their fastest pace in more than 40 years.

With labor market conditions still strong, we don't think the Fed will abandon its plans because of the current weakness in the stock market.

The U.S. economy is experiencing its worst growth quarter since the start of the Pandemic and worker output for the first three months is the worst since 1947. The GDP was down for the first three months of the year.

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