US April Non-Farm Payrolls Add 115,000, Far Exceeding Expectations; Unemployment Rate Holds Steady

(Central News Agency Washington 8th Comprehensive Foreign Report) The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced today that non-farm payrolls increased by 115,000 in April, far exceeding market expectations, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%. The US labor market remains hot, contrary to expectations that it might weaken this year.

According to US financial media CNBC, the seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls in April were lower than March's 185,000, but far exceeded the 55,000 estimated by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged last month, further proving that due to limited labor force growth, the labor market has reached a stage where only moderate job growth is needed to maintain a stable unemployment rate.

Data shows that in April, average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% month-on-month and 3.6% year-on-year, both lower than market expectations of 0.3% and 3.8% respectively; this is another important indicator of the health of the labor market.

Non-farm payroll increases were mainly concentrated in healthcare, warehousing and transportation, and retail industries. According to BLS data, healthcare led with an increase of 37,000 people, warehousing and transportation increased by 30,000, retail increased by 22,000, and social assistance services increased by 17,000.

However, the information services sector decreased by 13,000 people, indicating that the industry continues to be impacted by artificial intelligence (AI).

In addition, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), decided to keep interest rates unchanged at the end of April. The policy statement expressed increased concerns about inflation, but sparked opposition from 3 officials who believed the Fed should not send signals tending to lower borrowing costs. A fourth official at the meeting held a dissenting opinion, advocating for a 0.25 percentage point rate cut.

The resolution, passed by 8 to 4, was the most divided since October 6, 1992, and also showed that incoming Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh would face dissenting opinions from other officials if he were to push for rate cuts.

The US economy continues to grapple with stubbornly high prices, coupled with a resilient labor market that is growing slower than in previous years but still robust, so the market expects the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged until the end of the year. (Compiler: Hung Chi-yuan) 1150508

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