April’s jobs report out Friday morning, May 5, crushed economists’ estimates. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the economy added 253,000 jobs for the month, when around 180,000 were expected.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged back down to 3.4%, tying a near 70-year low. Since March 2022, the unemployment rate has stayed between 3.4% and 3.7%.
Average hourly wages also ran a little hotter than expected, up 0.5% on the month and up 4.4% on the year.
Economists note that this is the 13th consecutive month the jobs report has beat median estimates. That said, April’s report also came with significant revisions for the two previous months. BLS revised February’s jobs numbers down 78,000 to a gain of 248,000, and March’s jobs numbers down 71,000 to a gain of 165,000. In total, that’s a 149,000 downward revision in two months alone. Still, the monthly gain average over the previous six months is at a strong 290,000.
There are some mixed reactions to the jobs report considering the healthy, strong labor force is flying in the face of the Federal Reserve’s attempts to bring down inflation. Just this week, the Fed hiked rates for the 10th time in a little more than a year, bringing the fed funds target range between 5% and 5.25%.
“With today’s action, we have raised interest rates by five percentage points and a little more than a year,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday at a press conference. “We are seeing the effects of our policy tightening on demand in the most interest rate sensitive sectors of the economy, particularly housing and investment. It will take time, however, for the full full effects of monetary restraint to be realized, especially on inflation.”
Powell hinted that the open market committee is likely ready to hit pause on rate hikes. But some are concerned strong labor conditions, mixed with hot inflation prints, could push the Fed to move once again. The latest inflation data will be consumer prices, released May 10.
