The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) has released the jobs and employment data for April [SEE HERE].  Within the data we see 177,000 jobs were gained, beating expectations of 133,000.   The unemployment rate remains unchanged at 4.2%.

Federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April [BLS, Table B-1]  Health care added 51,000 jobs: consisting of hospitals (+22,000) and ambulatory health care services (+21,000). Transportation and warehousing increased by 29,000 jobs in April: with warehousing and storage (+10,000), couriers and messengers (+8,000), and air transportation (+3,000).

(Via Wall Street Journal) – The U.S. economy continued to add jobs at a steady clip in April, although the pace of gains slowed slightly during a month that saw changing tariff announcements and market turmoil.

The U.S. added 177,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department reported Friday, above the gain of 133,000 jobs economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see.

The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs figures, held steady at 4.2%.

The jobs number was less than the 185,000 jobs added in March. The job gains for February and March were revised down by a combined 58,000 jobs.

Federal-government layoffs were a drag on payrolls. Federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April.

Stocks opened higher. All three major U.S. indexes were up 1% or more in early trading. (more)