The number of employed people in the United States in April grew more than expected.

In April, the US saw strong job growth and stable unemployment rate, indicating that the uncertainty surrounding Trump's trade policies has not had a significant impact on hiring plans. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday showed that non-farm payrolls increased by 177,000 jobs in April after revisions to the previous two months' data. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%. The report suggests that the labor market continues to gradually cool, with businesses facing high levels of uncertainty due to tariffs and financial market turbulence, but it has not significantly altered their hiring plans. Most economists expect the effects of punitive tariffs to become evident in the coming months. Job growth in April was broad-based, with employment gains in healthcare, transportation, and warehousing leading the way. Manufacturing jobs decreased as the industry saw its largest contraction since 2020. Federal government employment declined for the third consecutive month. The labor force participation rate rose to 62.6% in April. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 reached its highest level in seven months. Economists widely anticipate that as economic uncertainty leads to a halt in expansion plans, layoffs will increase in the coming months.