U.S. Employers Added Far More Jobs Than Expected In April

Jobs Report Blows Past Expectations for 2nd Straight Month

By

Diccon Hyatt

Diccon Hyatt

Full Bio Diccon Hyatt is an experienced financial and economics reporter. He's written hundreds of articles breaking down complex financial topics in plain language, emphasizing the impact that economic currents would have on individuals' finances and the market. He has a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Delaware.

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Updated May 08, 2026

10:54 AM EDT

Nursing students wear masks during a class at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston.

The healthcare sector once again led the way in April, adding 37,000 jobs. Suzanne Kreiter / The Boston Globe / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

  • U.S. employers added 115,000 jobs in April, more than double the amount that economists had estimated.
  • The job market is on track this year for a significant improvement over 2025, which was the slowest year for job creation outside of a recession since 2003.
  • The resilient job creation figures takes pressure off officials at the Federal Reserve to cut rates, and gives them room to leave borrowing costs higher for longer to fight inflation.

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For a second month in a row, job creation has blown past expectations.

U.S. employers added 115,000 jobs in April, down from an upwardly-revised 178,000 in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.1 That was more than double the 55,000 forecasters had expected according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. 2 The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, relatively low by historic standards.

The performance in March and April was the best two-month stretch of job creation since 2024, and marked a turnaround from February, when the economy lost 156,000 jobs. The first four months of the year put the job market on track for a significant improvement over 2025, which was the slowest year for job creation outside of a recession since 2003.

What This Means for the Economy

The April employment numbers indicate that the job market remains resilient in the face of several shocks, most recently soaring gas prices. The combination of a strong job market and rising inflation will likely keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates any time soon.

Labor Market Stays Resilient

"The evidence is mounting that the U.S. job creation engine is at least stabilizing if not firing on a few more cylinders than it was at the start of the year," Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary.

The healthcare sector once again led the way in April, adding 37,000 jobs, with transportation and warehousing picking up 30,000 and retail adding 22,000. The information sector lost 13,000 jobs, while manufacturing continued its downward trend, losing 2,000 positions.

The report suggested the job market is staying resilient against several forces hindering the economy, including uncertainty about tariffs and the spike in gasoline prices from the Iran war, which is pinching household budgets. However, some economists took the good news with a grain of salt.

"While April’s report was generally positive, the progress feels more like a tentative first step than a confident stride forward," Cory Stahle, senior economist at job site Indeed, wrote in a commentary. "While healthcare job gains have remained relatively stable, their growing share of total job creation stems primarily from the collapse in other sectors. When averaged together, the headline numbers seem to be stabilizing. But remove healthcare from the equation, and the US labor market is actually losing more than it is gaining."

Job Strength Likely Keeps Fed on Hold

Still, the higher-than-expected job creation figures may reassure officials at the Federal Reserve that the job market is not at risk of collapsing any time soon, and takes pressure off the central bank to cut interest rates to boost hiring. That may give the Fed breathing room to focus on fighting inflation and keep its benchmark interest rate higher for longer.

The next meeting of the Fed's policy committee is in June, and financial markets widely expect the Fed to hold interest rates flat for the time being under the leadership of incoming Fed chair Kevin Warsh. Financial markets were pricing in just a 5% chance of a rate cut in June, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.3

"The ebullient employment gains, well in excess of the monthly 20,000 we estimate is the break-even level to hold the unemployment rate steady, along with the jump in inflation due to higher energy prices will keep the Fed holding interest rates steady for a long period of time," Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, wrote in a commentary.

UPDATE: This article has been updated after initial publication to include comments from analysts and additional context.

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Article Sources

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  1. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Employment Situation Summary."
  2. MarketWatch. "U.S. Economic Calendar."
  3. CME Group. "FedWatch Tool."

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