US jobs report – April serves up a mixed bag

The US economy added 428,000 jobs in April, continuing the previous month’s strong job gains despite growing fears of inflation and rising interest rates.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate was sitting at 3.6% in the month of April, unchanged from March when unemployment reached a 50-year low.

“This morning’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed continued robust job growth, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 428,000 in April. Job gains in the prior two months were revised downward by a total of 39,000, the first downward revision to past data since last June,” said Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan. “Employment gains were again broad-based across sectors, with the leisure and hospitality (+78,000), education and health services (+59,000), and manufacturing (+55,000) sectors showing the biggest gains.”