April 2025 Jobs Report: The Economy is Still Growing But Cautiously
The U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in April 2025, exceeding expectations but reflecting a deceleration from the prior month’s upwardly revised 185,000 gains. The unemployment rate remained at 4.2%, holding steady for the third consecutive month. While hiring continued in several sectors, particularly healthcare, transportation and warehousing, and financial activities—layoffs in the federal government and manufacturing highlight the growing impact of economic uncertainty, especially around tariffs and government restructuring.
Despite signals of resilience, economists and employers are voicing concerns about weakening demand, rising input costs and policy-driven volatility that could begin showing more tangible labor market effects in the coming months.
The Numbers*:
The U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in April, exceeding expectations but reflects a deceleration from previous month.
The unemployment rate remained the same at 4.2%.
There were 8.8M open jobs, an increase from the previous month’s report.
The labor force participation rate increased to 62.5%.
The number of job quits in the U.S. remained the same at 3.3 million, for the third straight month.
- Average hourly earnings rose by 0.2% month-over-month to $36.06.
- Average weekly hours worked slightly increased to 34.3 hours.
- Total hires were 5.5M, while total separations were 5.3M.
- Within separations, layoffs/discharges accounted for 1.5 million.
Industry Trends:
| Industry | February Jobs | Notes |
| Healthcare | + 51,000 | Strong growth driven by gains in hospitals and ambulatory services |
| Transportation & Warehousing | + 29,000 | Warehousing, couriers and air transport led gains |
| Financial Activities | + 14,000 | Continued upward trend, now up 103,000 since April 2024 |
| Social Assistance | + 8,000 | Slower pace than usual, below its 12-month average |
| Federal Government |
- 9,000 | Reflects ongoing job cuts under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) |
| Manufacturing | - 1,000 | Payrolls declined modestly, partly due to tariff-related uncertainty |
The change in total payroll employment for February was reduced by 15,000, from +117,000 to +102,000. The change for March decreased by 43,000, from +228,000 to +185,000. With these revisions, employment in February and March combined is 58,000 lower than previously reported.
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* Above represents April 2025 Data
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