Labor Market Held Steady In April, Adding More Jobs Than Expected

The job market stayed resilient in April despite the uncertainty created by President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff campaign.

The U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. That was a slowdown from a downwardly revised 185,000 in March, but more than the 133,000 forecasters had expected according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, which is not high by historical standards.

The jobs report was highly anticipated, as financial markets and Federal Reserve officials are examining the impact Trump’s drive to raise import taxes will have on the economy.

A sharp decline in job growth would have been a red flag that a recession is on the way. Instead, the steady job growth showed the hiring market may be healthy enough to stay afloat at least for the time being.

Trump’s tariffs against U.S. trading partners, many of which went into effect in April, have shaken up the outlook for the economy. Businesses and individuals have grown increasingly worried about higher prices and supply chain disruptions, according to surveys, which could hurt the job market or even potentially cause a recession.

Jobs Could Still Falter in Wake of Tariffs

However, if a surge in unemployment is coming, it may be too soon for it to show up in hard economic data.

“April’s jobs report suggests the labor market remains in a strong position,” Noah Yosif, chief economist at the American Staffing Association, said in a commentary. “However, the jury is out on whether the economy will be able to absorb potential shocks from tariffs.”

The tariffs are meant to help U.S. manufacturing by encouraging companies to build factories in the U.S. rather than import products from abroad. Ironically, however, the manufacturing sector could be the first to feel the pinch.

Managers in that industry reported laying off workers in April, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management released Thursday. Friday’s jobs report repeated this pattern, reporting that manufacturing lost 1,000 jobs after growing in March.

Economists and trade experts have predicted that the tariffs will hurt employment, especially in manufacturing. Higher costs for materials and parts imported from abroad will squeeze U.S.-based businesses, and trade barriers put up by foreign countries in retaliation will hurt exporters.

“The impact of trade tensions on the U.S. job market will likely show up gradually,” Ali Jaffery, an economist at CIBC, wrote in a commentary. “The headlines and surveys are telling us that first response of affected businesses is to cut costs, delay investment and pause unnecessary hiring, hopeful for a further moderation of tariff policy. There are also a significant portion of firms unaffected by the trade war in these early innings, and will start to the feel the stress over time.”

Update, May 2, 2025: This story has been updated after publication to include additional commentary from experts.