The unemployment rate dropped back down to 3.4 percent in the figures released Friday, a historically low figure. The jobs report showed other strong indicators, too.
Wages rose faster than expected in April at 0.5 percent. The unemployment rate for Black Americans fell to a record low 4.7 percent. The labor force participation rate of prime-age workers — ages 25 to 54 — rose to 83.3 percent, the highest figure since March 2008.
“The really good news is working age Americans are participating in the labor force at the highest rate in 15 years, not just since the pandemic,” President Biden said Friday.
Still, the report showed that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are cooling the economy.
The Labor Department revised March job gains from 236,000 to 165,000 and revised February job gains from 326,000 to 248,000.
“The April report does mark a significant slowdown in the pace of jobs added, especially factoring in downward revisions to the prior two months,” ZipRecruiter chief economist Julia Pollak said in a note. “Nevertheless, job growth remains remarkably resilient, over a year after the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates.”
Some experts worry that the jobs report was too strong for the Federal Reserve’s liking. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has sought to weaken the labor market in his fight to bring down inflation.
“While hiring is slowing, it is not doing so at a pace that guarantees the Federal Reserve will pause in its efforts to restore price stability at its June meeting,” RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas wrote in a memo.
