The US jobs market just pulled off another surprise — Wall Street took notice.
Employers added 177,000 jobs in April, blowing past analyst predictions of 135,000.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent, easing fears that tariffs and sweeping federal job cuts had already begun to erode the workforce.
It’s the second month in a row that job growth has outpaced predictions: payrolls increased by 228,000 in March.
US stock index futures extended gains after the stronger-than-expected jobs report calmed worries over the health of the labor market amid tensions of a global trade war.
At 8.30am ET, futures for the Dow Jones were up 299 points, or 0.73 percent, for the S&P 500 were up 42.25 points, or 0.75 oercent, and for the Nasdaq were up 139.5 points, or 0.70 percent.
April’s jobs numbers also extended a historic streak, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The US has now added jobs for 52 consecutive months, the second longest streak in American history.
The US added a surprising number of jobs in April
It’s been over four years of continued job growth. The last time the US recorded job losses was in early 2021, when employers were still grappling with rampant Covid infections before mass vaccination campaigns.
Digging deeper into April’s numbers, the US saw surprising growth in several key employment sectors.
Transportation and warehousing companies added 29,000 jobs last month, suggesting that companies have been stocking up before tariff impacts smack US consumers.
Healthcare companies added nearly 51,000 jobs. Bars and restaurants hired 17,000 workers. Construction firms expanded by 11,000 contracts.
Factories lost 1,000 jobs.
Tariffs and massive federal job cuts were expected to slash jobs much further.
But experts believe the numbers are about to get worse.
‘Let’s not fool ourselves, things are going to get worse later this year, probably later in the summer,’ Robert Frick, Navy Federal Credit Union’s corporate economist, told CNN.
