US economy sees healthy job growth in April as payrolls jump by 428,000

The U.S. economy saw solid job growth in April, suggesting the labor market is still strong despite headwinds from rising interest rates, soaring inflation, a worsening labor shortage and fears of a slowdown. 

Employers added 428,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday, beating the 391,000 jobs forecast by Refinitiv economists. It marked the 12th consecutive month that job gains topped 400,000. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, held steady at 3.6%, the lowest level since February 2020.

Job gains were broad-based, with the biggest increases in the pandemic-battered leisure and hospitality industry (78,000), manufacturing (55,000), and transportation and warehousing (52,000).