US employers defy economic shock from Iran war and add a surprisingly strong 115,000 jobs in April [View all]
Last edited Fri May 8, 2026, 09:53 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: AP
Updated 9:23 AM EDT, May 8, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's employers a delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war. Hiring was better than the 65,000 forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%.
The Iran war has caused the biggest disruption of global oil supplies in history and sent average U.S. gasoline prices surging past $4.50 a gallon this week. But the conflict hasn't done much damage to the American job market so far.
Healthcare added 37,000 jobs last month and transportation and warehousing companies 30,000. However, manufacturers cut 2,000 jobs in April and have shed 66,000 jobs over the past year despite President Donald Trump's protectionist policies aimed at creating factory jobs.
Labor Department revisions shaved 16,000 jobs from February and March payrolls. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% from March and 3.6% from April 2025, consistent with the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target. The number of people in the U.S. labor force dropped last month, and the share of those working or looking for work -- the so-called labor force participation rate -- dropped to 61.8%, lowest since October 2021.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/jobs-economy-unemployment-trump-iran-war-2cf46bfbf7748403ea0245100af45504
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Payroll employment edges up by 115,000 in April; unemployment rate unchanged at 4.3% https://bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm #JobsReport #BLSdata
8:32 AM · May 8, 2026
My usual sites are doing "Live Updates" versions that can't be posted here.
Expectations were about 1/2 of this so we are back in the era of "swings and misses".
For continuity - the CNBC PLOT -
Article updated.
Previous article -
WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's employers a delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war. Hiring was better than the 65,000 forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%.
The Iran war has caused the biggest disruption of global oil supplies in history and sent average U.S. gasoline prices surging past $4.50 a gallon this week. But the conflict hasn't done much damage to the American job market so far.
Healthcare added 37,000 jobs last month and retailers 22,000. However, manufacturers cut 2,000 jobs in April and have shed 66,000 jobs over the past year despite President Donald Trump's protectionist policies aimed at creating factory jobs. Labor Department revisions shaved 16,000 jobs from February and March payrolls.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% from March and 3.6% from April 2025, consistent with the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target. Baby Boomer retirements and Trump's immigration crackdown mean that fewer people are competing for work and that the economy doesn't need to generate as many jobs as it used to.
Original article/headline -
Updated 8:36 AM EDT, May 8, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's employers a delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war.
Hiring was better than the 65,000 forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%.
The Iran war has caused the biggest disruption of global oil supplies in history and sent average U.S. gasoline prices surging past $4.50 a gallon this week. But the conflict hasn't done much damage to the American job market so far.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
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