April jobs report shows healthy economy despite growing tariff concerns
Employers added 228,000 jobs, exceeding most analysts’ predictions, while unemployment ticked up to 4.2%.
Updated: 9:51 AM EDT Apr 4, 2025
Economists believe that it will take some time before we see the actual impact of President Trump’s tariffs when it comes to the jobs market, but for now today’s report shows another month of healthy growth. According to government data, employers added 228,000 jobs, exceeding most analysts’ predictions, although the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, roughly where it’s been for about *** year. Other data, including weekly unemployment claims and job openings, reflect *** slowing but still very healthy economy. The numbers though could change very soon. Economists believe tariffs will encourage employers to hold off on hiring or cut staff as they figure out *** way to absorb, pass along, or reconfigure production under President Trump’s new tariffs. Businesses are pulling back on investment plans. They’re waiting to see what’s going to happen. We see consumers pulling back on their consumption spending. Uh, so that’s not money that’s not going into the pockets of, uh, small businesses in their communities. Um, those will trickle through the, uh, the labor market and the broader economy even before we get to implementing these tariffs. Long term, President Trump is still defending his use of tariffs, saying that it will boost US manufacturing and therefore bring jobs over the months and years to come. In Washington, I’m Amy Lou.
April jobs report shows healthy economy despite growing tariff concerns
Employers added 228,000 jobs, exceeding most analysts’ predictions, while unemployment ticked up to 4.2%.
Updated: 9:51 AM EDT Apr 4, 2025
Economists believe it will take time before we see the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the job market, but Friday’s government jobs report showed another month of healthy growth.Employers added 228,000 jobs, exceeding most analysts’ predictions, although the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, roughly where it’s been for about a year. Other data, including weekly unemployment claims and job openings, reflect a slowing but still very healthy economy.The numbers could change soon, as economists believe tariffs will encourage employers to hold off on hiring or cut staff as they figure out a way to absorb, pass along, or reconfigure production under Trump’s new tariffs.”Businesses are pulling back on investment plans,” Senior Economist Adam Hersh of the Economic Policy Institute said. “They’re waiting to see what’s going to happen with the consumers pulling back on their consumption spending, so that is not money that’s going into the pockets of small businesses and their communities. Those will trickle through the labor market and the broader economy even before we get to implementing tariffs.”Trump is defending his tariffs, saying in the long-term, they will boost U.S. manufacturing and bring more jobs back over the months and years to come.The Federal Reserve also closely tracks unemployment data. If it sees a spike in people losing their jobs or inflation, it may encourage them to lower interest rates. The Fed says, for now, they’ll wait and see what happens.
Economists believe it will take time before we see the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the job market, but Friday’s government jobs report showed another month of healthy growth.
Employers added 228,000 jobs, exceeding most analysts’ predictions, although the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, roughly where it’s been for about a year. Other data, including weekly unemployment claims and job openings, reflect a slowing but still very healthy economy.
The numbers could change soon, as economists believe tariffs will encourage employers to hold off on hiring or cut staff as they figure out a way to absorb, pass along, or reconfigure production under Trump’s new tariffs.
“Businesses are pulling back on investment plans,” Senior Economist Adam Hersh of the Economic Policy Institute said. “They’re waiting to see what’s going to happen with the consumers pulling back on their consumption spending, so that is not money that’s going into the pockets of small businesses and their communities. Those will trickle through the labor market and the broader economy even before we get to implementing tariffs.”
Trump is defending his tariffs, saying in the long-term, they will boost U.S. manufacturing and bring more jobs back over the months and years to come.
The Federal Reserve also closely tracks unemployment data. If it sees a spike in people losing their jobs or inflation, it may encourage them to lower interest rates. The Fed says, for now, they’ll wait and see what happens.
