(RTTNews) - A closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed much stronger than expected U.S. job growth in the month of April.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 115,000 jobs in April after surging by an upwardly revised 185,000 jobs in March.
Economists had expected employment to climb by 63,000 jobs compared to the jump of 178,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The report showed notable job growth in the healthcare, transportation and warehousing, and retail sectors, while federal government employment continued to edge lower.
"The labor market has strengthened markedly over the past two months despite the increased uncertainty surrounding the Iran war," said Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic.
She continued, "While higher gasoline prices will curtail consumer spending, especially hitting lower-income households, the strong labor market will offer an offset as it lifts both aggregate household income and supports consumer confidence."
Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate came in at 4.3 percent in April, unchanged from March and in line with economist estimates.
The unemployment rate held steady as the household survey measure of employment slumped by 226,000 persons but the labor force also shrank by 92,000 persons.
The Labor Department also said average hourly employee earnings rose by $0.06 or 0.2 percent to $37.41 in April.
The annual rate of growth by average hourly employee earnings crept up to 3.6 percent in April from 3.5 percent in March.
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