Official figures show that employment in the US slowed in April, and the workforce added 177,000 jobs as Donald Trump’s aggressive trade strategy clouded the economic outlook.
The White House has moved forward with tariffs on cleanups on imports overseas, claiming that this will stimulate the US economy, with employers across the country continuing to add jobs at a steady pace.
Reading in April fell from the 185,000 revised jobs reported in March, exceeding the 133,000 economists expect. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%.
Employment in April was stronger than expected, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shaved 58,000 from a tally of 58,000 for profits in February and March. The biggest recruiting profits for April were in healthcare and transportation and warehouses.
Federal employment fell 9,000 in April as Elon Musk-led “government efficiency” continued to cut government workers. Federal employment has fallen 26,000 since January. The BLS noted that the number lacked the number of jobs lost as this number did not participate in paid leave or ongoing retirement receipts.
The April employment survey took place mid-month, two weeks after Donald Trump announced his tariff plans.
“Like I said, and we’re just in the transition phase, we’re just starting out!!! Consumers have been waiting years to see prices drop. There’s no inflation. Trump wrote about the true society.
The report comes days after official growth data revealed that US gross domestic product had shrunk by 0.3% in the first quarter. This fostered a recession fear with a sharp turnaround from the 2.4% growth in the last quarter, and the first initial decline in GDP in three years.
Trump tried to blame Joe Biden for the surprising slowdown in growth, but the economist said it was driven primarily by an unprecedented surge in imports, as consumers and businesses didn’t because they would impose his controversial tariff wave..
Trump seized his job count on Friday and again discussed interest rate cuts. However, the economists suggested that the Fed could likely continue to sit in its hands.
Nancy Vanden Gauteng, an American economist at Oxford Economics, said: “Some of the fundamental details of the April employment report were softer than the headlines, but overall, the data has become so strong that the Federal Reserve can stay on the sidelines to monitor the impact of tariffs on inflation and inflation expectations.”
According to the ADP National Employment Report, published earlier this week, 62,000 jobs were added in the private sector in April, the lowest level since July 2024.