Hiring in the US slowed in April, according to official figures, with the workforce adding 177,000 jobs as Donald Trump’s aggressive trade strategy clouded the economic outlook.
As the White House pressed ahead with sweeping tariffs on overseas imports, claiming this would revitalize the US economy, employers across the country continued to add jobs at a steady pace.
The April reading is down from the revised 185,000 jobs reported for March – and above the 133,000 expected by economists. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%.
While April’s hiring was stronger than predicted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also shaved 58,000 off its tallies for February and March’s gains. April’s largest hiring gains were in healthcare and transportation and warehousing.
Federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April as the Elon Musk-led “department of government efficiency” continued to cut government workers. Federal employment has fallen by 26,000 since January. The BLS noted that the number undercounts how many jobs have been lost as they do not include people on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance payments.
April’s jobs survey was conducted in the middle of the month, two weeks after Donald Trump had announced his tariff plans.
“Just like I said, and we’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!! Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down. NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The report comes days after official growth data revealed that US gross domestic product shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter – an abrupt reversal from 2.4% growth in the preceding quarter, and the first drop in GDP in three years – fueling fears of a recession.
While Trump sought to blame Joe Biden for the stunning slowdown in growth, economists said it was largely driven by an unprecedented surge in imports, as consumers and companies braced for the US president to impose his controversial wave of tariffs.
Trump seized on Friday’s job numbers to argue once again for interest rate cuts. But economists suggested they made it more likely that the Fed will continue to sit on its hands – raising the prospect of further tension between Jerome Powell, the central bank’s chair, and the president.
Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics, said: “Some of the underlying details of the April employment report were softer than the headlines, but overall, the data were strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to remain on the sidelines as it monitors the impact of tariffs on inflation and inflation expectations.”
According to the ADP National Employment report, published earlier this week, 62,000 jobs in the private sector were added in April, the lowest level since July 2024.
