The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs in April, a stronger than expected rebound from March's disappointing job gains, which were adjusted down to 79,000 from the 98,000 initially reported. Economists polled by Bloomberg had estimated on average that 190,000 new jobs were added last month. The weakness in hiring in March, which already had the smallest gains in 10 months before the downward adjustment, has been blamed on unseasonably warm weather in January and February, which caused premature seasonal gains in such weather-sensitive industries as construction and leisure. The April figure nudged down the unemployment rate to 4.4 percent, from 4.5 percent. Wages showed a 2.4 percent increase over the last year, down slightly from the 2.5 percent reported the month before. The April report provided the latest evidence that the economy remains on track with Federal Reserve expectations for continued "moderate" economic growth.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon: an 'exceptional' documentaryThe Week Recommends Retired neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on his pioneering work with exquisitely 'raw honesty'
-
A new subtype of diabetes was found and it may require different treatmentUnder the radar It is prevalent in Black Africans and Americans
-
Crossword: August 20, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
How is Trump's economy doing?Talking Points The latest jobs numbers suggest a slowdown in the offing
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
