‘Better Than Expected’: Labor Secretary Hails April Jobs Report

The White House celebrated a positive April jobs report as markets rebounded Friday, a welcome relief amid uncertainty over tariffs.

“The Golden Age is here,” said Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer after the report came out. “This is another great jobs report … better than expected.”

The report showed a 177,000 increase in nonfarm payroll jobs. At a more granular level, the report indicates “employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 29,000 in April.” 

This is great news for the Trump administration, which has been trying to bring manufacturing and brick-and-mortar businesses back to the United States. 

The increase far exceeded the 133,000 job gain projected by economic experts, a forecast compiled by Dow Jones.

Following a previously observed trend, 9,000 federal jobs were lost in April—by all appearances, a result of President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to downsize the federal government.

However, the jobs report also brought corrections to previous monthly reports. February job gains were corrected from 117,000 down to 102,00 and March gains from 228,000 to 185,000. All told, “employment in February and March combined is 58,000 lower than previously reported.”

However, the April job gains even amid uncertainty over tariffs are great news for the White House.

On Friday, markets rebounded after the report, with stock futures rising.