U.S. employers stepped up hiring modestly in April, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, evidence of the economy’s resilience amid the recent stock market chaos and anxieties about a possible trade war.
Job growth amounted to a decent 164,000 last month, up from an upwardly revised 135,000 in March, the Labor Department says. The unemployment rate fell after having held at 4.1% for the prior six months largely because fewer people were searching for jobs.
The overall unemployment rate remained, as in recent months, the lowest since December 2000. The rate for African-Americans—6.6%—is the lowest on record since 1972.
Many employers say it’s difficult to find qualified workers. Even so, they haven’t significantly bumped up pay in most industries. Average hourly earnings rose 2.6% from a year ago.
An encouraging sign for the economy is that the pace of hiring has yet to be disrupted by dramatic global market swings, a recent pickup in inflation or the risk that the tariffs being pushed by President Donald Trump could provoke a trade war. Over the past three months, monthly job growth has averaged 208,000.
Much of the economy’s durability, in fact, is due to the healthy job market. The increase in people earning paychecks has bolstered demand for housing, even though fewer properties are being listed for sale. Consumer confidence has improved over the past year. And more people are shopping, with retail sales having picked up in March after three monthly declines.
