The U.S. labor market continued to defy expectations in April, with employers surpassing economists' forecasts and adding 115,000 jobs across the nation. By the numbers 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 and warehousing led job growth in April, adding 37,000 and 30,000 jobs, respectively. Federal employment