The U.S. labor market held steady in April, adding 177,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Job growth was led by the healthcare sector, which added 51,000 positions, continuing its consistent upward trend. Transportation and warehousing followed with 29,000 new jobs, a notable rebound after flat growth in March. Financial activities and social assistance sectors also saw gains, adding 14,000 and 8,000 jobs respectively. However, federal government employment declined by 9,000.
 

The unemployment rate, which has hovered between 4.0% and 4.2% since May 2024, showed little change across all major demographic groups. The long-term unemployed population rose by 179,000 to 1.7 million, accounting for nearly a quarter of all unemployed workers.

Wages ticked up modestly in April. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% to $36.06 for all private-sector employees, representing a 3.8% year-over-year gain. Production and nonsupervisory employees saw slightly stronger growth, with a 0.3% monthly increase.

Labor force participation stayed steady at 62.6%, while the employment-population ratio remained at 60.0%. The number of Americans working part-time for economic reasons remained at 4.7 million.

Despite steady gains, job growth revisions for February and March were lowered by a combined 58,000 jobs, suggesting slightly weaker momentum earlier this year.

Overall, the April data signals a stable yet cautious labor market, with strong hiring in service-oriented sectors but mixed performance in others and continued concerns about long-term unemployment.


 
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