Payrolls rise by 428,000 as unemployment rate holds at 3.6%

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U.S. adds 428,000 jobs in April, topping estimates

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April jobs report: Payrolls rise by 428,000 as unemployment rate holds at 3.6%

Emily McCormick

·Reporter

Fri, May 6, 2022, 9:31 PM·5 min read

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U.S. job growth remained robust in April as the unemployment rate held near its pre-virus low, further underscoring the still-tight domestic labor market.

The Labor Department released its monthly jobs report for April Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared with consensus data compiled by Bloomberg:

Non-farm payrolls: +428,000 vs. +380,000 expected and a revised +428,000 in March
Unemployment rate: 3.6% vs. 3.5% expected, 3.6% in March
Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: 0.3% vs. 0.4% expected and a revised 0.4% in March
Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: 5.5% vs. 5.5% expected, 5.6% in March

The U.S. economy has brought back payrolls each month so far in 2022, and April's payrolls gains still represented growth well-above pre-pandemic trends. Throughout 2019, payroll growth had averaged about 164,000 per month. And though payroll gains were also slightly downwardly revised for February and March, these increases were still solid on a historical basis. In February, employment grew by 714,000, versus the 750,000 previously reported, while March employment was downwardly revised by 3,000 to reach 428,000.

Services-based employers have brought back some of the most jobs yet again in April, as companies hastened to hire back workers let go during the pandemic to meet renewed consumer demand. Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry increased by 78,000 in April, slowing just slightly from March's 100,000. Education and health services employers brought back slightly more jobs in April compared to March at 59,000. Transportation and warehousing payroll gains increased much more markedly in April compared to March, rising by 52,000 compared to 9,500 during the prior month.

In the goods-producing sector, payroll growth was little changed month-on-month, with jobs growing by 66,000 in April. This was in turn led by hiring in manufacturing, where payrolls grew 55,000.