The U.S. job market posted another strong month for job growth, adding 428,000 new jobs in April according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, above the 400,000 predicted by Dow Jones:
"The U.S. economy added slightly more jobs than expected in April amid an increasingly tight labor market and despite surging inflation and fears of a growth slowdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls grew by 428,000 for the month, a bit above the Dow Jones estimate of 400,000. The unemployment rate was 3.6%, slightly higher than the estimate for 3.5%. The April total was identical to the downwardly revised count for March. [snip]
Leisure and hospitality again led job growth, adding 78,000.
Other big gainers included manufacturing (55,000), transportation and warehousing (52,000), Professional and business services (41,000), financial activities (35,000) and health care (34,000). Retail also showed solid growth, adding 29,000 primarily from gains in food and beverage stores."
The report for April also showed signs that the growth in hourly earnings grew, but at a slightly slower pace than expected (0.3% vs. 0.4%), indicating a slight lowering of inflation.
Notably, this is the 12th straight month of job gains over 400,000, something that's never happened since the government began keeping records in 1939.
