US labour market adds 177,000 jobs in April, unemployment rate holds steady at 4.2%

The US nonfarm payroll employment rose by 177,000 in April, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2 percent, according to the latest report from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.
Employment continued to trend up in health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance, although federal government employment declined as businesses navigated the early months of Donald Trump’s second presidency.
The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0 to 4.2 percent since May 2024. In April, the number of unemployed persons was 7.2 million, showing little change over the month. Among major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men was 4.0 percent, for adult women 3.7 percent, for teenagers 12.9 percent, for Whites 3.8 percent, for Blacks 6.3 percent, for Asians 3.0 percent, and for Hispanics 5.2 percent.These rates showed little or no change in April.
The number of long-term unemployed—those jobless for 27 weeks or more—increased by 179,000 in April to 1.7 million. This group accounted for 23.5 percent of the total unemployed population.
The labour force participation rate was 62.6 percent in April, and the employment-population ratio was 60.0 percent. Both measures changed little over the month and have shown little movement over the year.
In April, 4.7 million people were employed part time for economic reasons. This number changed little from the previous month. These individuals preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time work.
The number of people not in the labour force who currently wanted a job was 5.7 million in April, showing little change from the prior month. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they had not actively looked for work during the four weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
Among those not in the labour force who wanted a job, 1.6 million were marginally attached to the labour force in April, also showing little change. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not searched in the four weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed no jobs were available for them, stood at 414,000 and also changed little.
According to the establishment survey, the increase of 177,000 in nonfarm payroll employment in April was close to the average monthly gain of 152,000 over the prior 12 months. Health care added 51,000 jobs in April, similar to its average monthly gain of 52,000 over the past year. Within health care, hospitals added 22,000 jobs and ambulatory health care services added 21,000.
Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 29,000 in April, following an increase of 3,000 in March. Within the sector, warehousing and storage added 10,000 jobs, couriers and messengers 8,000, and air transportation 3,000. The sector had averaged 12,000 new jobs per month over the previous year.
Employment in financial activities rose by 14,000 in April. Since its most recent trough in April 2024, the industry has added 103,000 jobs.
Social assistance employment increased by 8,000 in April, below the average monthly gain of 20,000 over the prior 12 months.
Federal government employment decreased by 9,000 in April and is down by 26,000 since January.
Yet many economists fear that the US job market will deteriorate if economic growth takes a hit from trade wars.
Trump’s massive taxes on imports to the US are likely to raise costs for Americans and American businesses that depend on supplies from overseas. They also threaten to slow economic growth. His immigration crackdown threatens to make it more difficult for hotels, restaurants and construction firms to fill job openings. By purging federal workers and cancelling federal contracts, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency risks wiping out jobs inside the government and out.
“Looking ahead, we expect the steep tariff increases and the surge in uncertainty and financial market volatility will result in a more pronounced labour market downshift than previously anticipated,” Lydia Boussour, senior economist at the accounting and consulting giant EY, wrote this week. “Large cuts to the federal workforce and the cancellations of many government contracts will also be a drag on payroll growth in coming months.’’
A slowdown in immigration “will weigh on labour supply dynamics, further constraining job growth. We foresee the unemployment rate rising toward 5% in 2025.’’
(With input from AP)