US jobs data beats expectations for second month in a row

The solid figures came despite rising gas prices and economic uncertainty sparked by the Iran war.

Despite the economic turbulence caused by the Iran war, which has triggered record disruptions in oil supply and led U.S. gas prices to soar above $4.50 per gallon, the U.S. job market showed unexpected resilience in April 2026. Employers added 115,000 jobs—well above the expected 65,000—though a slowdown from March’s 185,000. Unemployment held steady at 4.3%. Most gains came from healthcare (+37,000) and transportation/warehousing sectors (+30,000), while manufacturing continued to decline.

The U.S. added 115,000 jobs in April, according to the report, which marked a cooldown from 178,000 jobs added in March. The reading for April exceeded economists' expectations. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said. Unemployment remains low by historical standards. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collected the previous month's survey data through the second week of March, before the full effects of the oil shock set off by the war.

The U.S. labor market continued to defy expectations in April, with employers surpassing economists' forecasts and adding 115,000 jobs nationwide. Economists predicted payroll gains of 65,000 in April, according to a consensus forecast from FactSet. The unemployment rate, which has hovered above 4% since June 2024, held steady at 4.3%. Health care and transportation/warehousing companies led job growth in April, adding 37,000 and 30,000 jobs, respectively. Federal employment fell by 9,000. The report follows a strong March report, when employers added a revised 185,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. The Labor Department said Friday that it also revised February's already weak reading down by 23,000, bringing the total number of jobs lost that month to 156,000.

America’s employers delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war. Hiring beat the 65,000 jobs forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%, the Labor Department reported Friday. The Iran war has caused the biggest disruption of global oil supplies in history and sent average U.S. gasoline prices surging past $4.50 a gallon this week. But the conflict hasn’t done much damage to the American job market so far. And the import taxes — tariffs — that President Donald Trump imposed last year haven’t turned out to be as high and as damaging as originally feared.