US economy adds 115,000 jobs in April despite Iran war

The U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, a stronger-than-expected gain that kept the unemployment rate steady at 4.3% despite economic fallout from the war in Iran [1]. The data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) followed months of volatility, including a loss of 156,000 jobs in February and a gain of 185,000 in March [1]. Revisions to prior months brought the average job creation over the last three months to 48,000 [1]. Economists noted strength in the retail and transportation sectors. "Both give relatively positive signals about the health of discretionary spending, despite the hit to consumers' purchasing power from higher gasoline prices," said Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics [1]. Ryan concluded the report was "ultimately a positive employment report that reinforces the view that the labour market is stable and potentially even accelerating" [1]. However, Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said job growth was likely to start to slow in the coming months, predicting the unemployment rate could rise to 4.7% by year's end [1]. The figures added to expectations the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold as it monitors inflation [1].