Paul Wiseman, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – US job offers rose unexpectedly in April, indicating that the labour market remains resilient in the face of uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s trade war.
The Labor Bureau reported Tuesday that employers recorded 7.4 million jobs, rising from 7.2 million in March to 7.4 million. The economists were hoping that the opening would float to 7.1 million people.
However, the number of Americans quit their jobs — signs of confidence in their outlook — fell, and layoffs checked higher. Another indication is that the employment market has cooled down from the 2021-2023 employment boom, and the Ministry of Labor reported the job of one of all unemployed people. In December 2022, there were two vacant seats for all unemployed Americans recently.
The opening remains high by historical standards, but has fallen sharply since peaking at 12.1 million in March 2022 when the economy was still continuing to lock down Covid-19.
The Labor Bureau’s opening of jobs and a summary of labor sales provided little evidence of billionaire Elon Musk’s government efficiency cuts the federal workforce. The federal employment opening increased from 121,000 in March to 134,000 in April. And federal layoffs fell from 8,000 in March to 4,000 in February to 19,000.
Although it slowed, the US job market remains resilient to combat the revival of inflation, facing high interest rates designed by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023.
The economic outlook is uncertain, mainly due to Trump’s economic policies. It’s huge taxes on imports, the purest of federal workers, and the deportation of immigrants who work illegally in the United States.
Carl Weinberg, chief economist in high frequency economics, said Jolts’ report shows businesses are waiting to see how Trump’s policies unfold. “When businesses make it more certain that bad times are coming, they start abandoning workers,” he wrote in the commentary. “But the economy is still approaching full employment. We suspect that businesses are still stocking up on workers until they are very certain about the recession.”
The Labor Bureau is scheduled to report Friday that employers added 130,000 jobs last month from 177,000 in April. Unemployment is expected to remain low by 4.2%, according to a survey of forecasters by data company Factset.
Original issue: June 3, 2025, 11:14am EDT
