According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, here's a summary of the April 2025 jobs numbers:
- Total Nonfarm Payroll Employment: Increased by 177,000 in April 2025. This was roughly in line with the average monthly gain of 152,000 over the prior 12 months. Note that earlier estimates for February and March 2025 were revised down by a combined 58,000 jobs.
- Unemployment Rate: Remained unchanged at 4.2 percent in April and has been in a narrow range of 4.0 percent to 4.2 percent since May 2024.
- Number of Unemployed People: Changed little in April, at 7.2 million.
- Job Openings (JOLTS report):Increased unexpectedly to 7.4 million in April. This was an increase of 191,000 from March and higher than the 7.1 million consensus forecast by economists.
- Hiring: Increased by 169,000 to 5.6 million in April.
- Total Separations: Increased to 5.3 million in April.
- Layoffs and Discharges:Increased by 196,000 to 1.79 million in April.
- Quits: Decreased by 150,000 to 3.2 million in April.
- Long-term Unemployed: 1.7 million people had been unemployed 27 weeks or more in April, an increase of 179,000 from the previous month.
- Average Hourly Earnings: Rose by $0.15 (0.4%) in April, reaching $36.24.
Industries with notable job gains in April:
- Health care
- Transportation and warehousing
- Financial activities
- Social assistance
Industries with job declines in April:
- Federal government employment declined.
The labor market in April 2025 appeared relatively steady despite concerns about tariffs and trade wars. Job growth in the month was stronger than initially expected, although revisions to previous months' data showed slightly fewer jobs added overall. Wages continued to grow at a healthy pace.