U.S. Jobs Report April 2026
U.S. Jobs Report April 2026 showed payrolls rose 115,000 and JOLTS hires rose, underscoring hiring resilience and shaping near-term rate expectations.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Nonfarm payrolls rose 115,000 in April, above economists' forecasts of roughly 55,000-65,000.
- Unemployment held at 4.3% while labor-force participation was 61.8% and employment-population 59.1%.
- JOLTS showed openings steady at 6.9 million and hires rising to 5.6 million, indicating continued hiring demand.
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on May 8 that nonfarm payrolls rose 115,000 in April, exceeding economists’ forecasts of 55,000 to 65,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 percent, while the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) for March showed job openings steady at 6.9 million and hires rising to 5.6 million, indicating continued demand for workers.
Payrolls Exceed Forecasts Amid Steady Hiring
The Employment Situation report released May 8 at 8:30 a.m. ET showed the labor market added 115,000 jobs, well above expectations. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3 percent, with 7.4 million people unemployed. The labor-force participation rate was 61.8 percent, and the employment-population ratio was 59.1 percent, both little changed.
The March JOLTS report, released May 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET, showed job openings steady at 6.9 million, while hires increased by 655,000 to 5.6 million. Separations totaled 5.4 million, with quits at 3.2 million and layoffs and discharges at 1.9 million. February revisions raised openings by 40,000 and hires by 50,000.
Average hourly earnings for private nonfarm workers rose 0.2 percent to $37.41, a 3.6 percent year-over-year increase. Production and nonsupervisory workers saw a 0.3 percent gain to $32.23. The average workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours in the private sector and to 40.4 hours in manufacturing. About 4.9 million people worked part time for economic reasons, and 1.8 million were long-term unemployed, representing 25.3 percent of the unemployed.
Wage growth remained modest despite resilient hiring, suggesting pay pressures have not accelerated.
Sector Shifts and Payroll Revisions
Job gains were concentrated in health care, transportation, and retail. Health care added 37,000 jobs, including 15,000 in nursing and residential care and 11,000 in home-health services. Transportation and warehousing increased by 30,000 jobs, supported by a 38,000 rise in couriers and messengers. Retail trade added 22,000 jobs, led by warehouse clubs and general merchandise stores (+18,000) and building-materials stores (+13,000), partially offset by a 7,000 decline in department stores. Social assistance added 17,000 jobs.
Federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April and remains down 348,000, or 11.5 percent, since its October 2024 peak. The information sector fell by 13,000 and is down 342,000, or 11.0 percent, since November 2022. These contrasts highlight uneven momentum across industries.
BLS revised February payrolls down to a loss of 156,000, 23,000 lower than previously reported, and raised March payrolls to a gain of 185,000, 7,000 higher than prior estimates. The net revision for February and March was a downward adjustment of 16,000 jobs, reflecting volatility in recent reports.
The next Employment Situation report is scheduled for June 5, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET, and the next JOLTS report, covering April, will be released June 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET.
