Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 253,000 jobs in April, higher than the consensus estimate, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The unemployment rate dropped to 3.4%. It has remained at or below 3.7% since the end of the first quarter of 2022.
Most major industries relevant to commercial real estate, including construction, transportation and warehousing, retail trade and manufacturing saw little change in April employment numbers.
The leisure and hospitality sector added 31,000 jobs in April, 25,000 of which were at food services and drinking places. The sector has averaged 47,000 monthly job gains over the last six months and is now short of its pre-pandemic, February 2020 employment level by 402,000 jobs.
Here's how economists and others reacted to the February jobs report on Twitter:
Job market defying gravity in April:
— Daniel Zhao (@DanielBZhao) May 5, 2023
*253,000 jobs added, above expectations though big negative revisions to last 2 months
*Unemp drops to 3.4%. Black unemp at record low 4.7%
*Wage growth jumps to 4.4% YoY
There's still heat in the job market #JobsReport 1/
The unemployment rate fell a tick to 3.4%, the lowest level in half a century (equal with Jan 2023, and May 1969).
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) May 5, 2023
It's stunning to me that we hear so much gloom and doom when unemployment is at a 54-year low.
Lemme state something radically obvious: This is very very good news
The Goofy on roller skates economy
— Adam Ozimek (@ModeledBehavior) May 5, 2023
Very strong jobs report +253k jobs in April. Tempered a little bit by downward revisions (-78k in Feb and -71k in March = 149k combined). Hard for me to see the Fed cutting rates anytime soon.
— David Wessel (@davidmwessel) May 5, 2023
253,000 jobs added in April. It's mainly biz, health care, gov't & hospitality hiring now...
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) May 5, 2023
Biz services +43,000
Healthcare +40,000
Hospitality +31,000
Social Assistance +25,000
Financial +23,000
Gov't +23,000
Construction +15,000
Manufacturing +11,000
***Temp help -23,000
As long as the unemployment rate hasn't fallen apart, the soft landing debate is alive and well
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) May 5, 2023
If you're looking for signs of a recession in the labor market data, you won't find it in this report. Soft landing is still on the table. (5/n)
— Odeta Kushi (@odetakushi) May 5, 2023
Jerome "Charmin Ultra Soft" Powell
— Rayhan Momin (@momin_rayhan) May 5, 2023
The Black unemployment rate set *another* record low, falling three tenths of a point to 4.7%.
— Ben Casselman (@bencasselman) May 5, 2023
THIS IS IMPORTANT: The labor market is strong, but it’s not “too hot.” Wage growth is generally trending down. We can absolutely sustain the kind of labor market tightness we are seeing today, if the Fed doesn’t stand in the way (or hasn’t already). 4/
— Heidi Shierholz (@hshierholz) May 5, 2023
Market up after jobs report, but also regional bank stocks have stabilized. Gold is down 2.1%, -$43. Ten-year yields up. Today, no recession and Fed rate cut less likely. It’s all about the Fed. I don’t think it should be, but it is.
— Brian Wesbury (@wesbury) May 5, 2023
In sum,
— Aaron Sojourner (@aaronsojourner) May 5, 2023
- healthy labor market,
- mixed signals on direction
-- weakening labor demand from Fed rate hikes: deceleration of PAEPOP growth, loss in temp help.
-- strengthening demand? wage accel (but signal noisy, need more months)
-- supply fall? Wage accel & N2(U+E) decel
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