The jobs report revealed stronger-than-expected payrolls growth and a drop in the unemployment rate.
The April jobs report topped economists' expectations by a wide margin and the unemployment rate ticked down to remain at 50-year lows, complicating the Federal Reserve's mission to rein in inflation.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 253,000 in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics(opens in new tab) said Friday, well ahead of economists' forecast for the addition of 185,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate, which is derived from a separate survey, slipped to 3.4% from 3.5% in March, remaining at levels not seen in half a century. Economists expected the unemployment rate to rise to 3.6%.
The main areas of job growth included professional and business services, healthcare, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance, the BLS said.
The economy has added an average 290,000 new jobs a month over the past six months, defying the Fed's efforts to introduce slack into a squeaky tight labor market.
Also confounding the Fed was the fact that April's average hourly earnings rose 0.5%. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.4%, per the BLS.
If there was a bright spot for Fed policy, it's that payroll employment for March and February were revised downward. Taken together, employment for both months was 149,000 lower than previously reported.
Market participants are hopeful that the central bank will adopt what is being called a "hawkish pause" at the next Fed meeting, bringing an end to the most aggressive campaign of interest rate hikes in 40 years.
At the most recent Fed meeting, which wrapped up on May 3, Chair Jerome Powell made it clear that future policy moves will be "data dependent." The April jobs report, at first blush, would appear to be a data point that argues against a pause in interest rate hikes.
With the April jobs report now a matter of record, we turned to economists, strategists, investment officers and other experts to get their takes on what the data means for markets, macroeconomics and monetary policy going forward. Below please find a selection of commentary, sometimes edited for clarity or brevity.
Source: kiplinger.com
