April job growth came in above expectations, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The economy added 115,000 jobs, compared with forecasts for about 60,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%.
What’s the bottom line?
At first glance the report looks encouraging, but revisions have also made the BLS data more volatile. For example, March job gains were revised slightly higher, while February showed a much larger decline. Looking deeper into the report, full-time employment fell by 424,000 jobs, while part-time employment increased by 123,000. The number of people working part-time for economic reasons, which includes workers who would prefer full-time jobs but could not find them, also jumped by nearly 450,000.
Another trend worth watching is where job growth is occurring. Much of the recent hiring has come from Health Care and Social Assistance, reflecting growing demand from an aging population, but not necessarily signaling broad-based strength across the overall economy.