With only 175,000 new jobs created in April, US employment growth slowed significantly last month, according to figures released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Federal Reserve has attempted to cool demand in order to control excessive inflation, which has resulted in the slower-than-expected growth in April, the lowest since October of last year.
The pressure of rising interest rates has caused economists to predict a gradual slowdown in the labor market.
The news caused markets to soar; Dow futures increased by 505 points, or 1.3%; S&P 500 futures increased by 1.1%; and Nasdaq futures increased by 1.5%.
According to a broader perspective, the labor market is robust and tight, as stated by Wells Fargo senior economist Michael Pugliese in a Friday interview with CNN. “This is a far cry from the labor markets that were blatantly weak over the previous fifteen or so years, or even from 2020 or 2009.”
“However, it is evident right now that the labor market is not as tight as it was in late 2021 and early 2022.”The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the jobless rate increased slightly to 3.9%. The unemployment rate has been below 4% for 27 months running in April, a record previously seen in the late 1960s.
FactSet consensus estimates show that economists expected the unemployment rate to remain stable at 3.8% and that 235,000 new jobs were created last month.
A major contributor to job gains, the health care and social support sector accounted for nearly half (about 87,000) of April’s employment gains. The remaining job growth was spread out among a number of other areas, with retail trade, transportation, and warehousing recording some of the largest increases.