U.S. gains 164,000 jobs in April; unemployment falls to 3.9%

WASHINGTON — U.S. nonfarm payroll employment rose by 164,000 jobs in April, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reducing the unemployment rate to 3.9 percent, the lowest unemployment rate since 2000, after several months at 4.1 percent.

The largest jobs increase in April was in professional and business services, 54,000 jobs, followed by manufacturing and health care at 24,000 jobs each, according to the May 4 report.

Mining employment increased by 8,000 jobs during the month, but employment was little changed in construction, retail and wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities and government, the BLS said.

The BLS employment gains were about two-thirds as high as those posted May 2 by payroll services firm ADP Inc.

According to ADP, U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased in April by 241,000 jobs. More than half of that total — 127,000 jobs — was in medium-sized businesses of 50 to 499 workers, the company said.

Large businesses of 500 or more employees gained 67,000 jobs during the month, ADP said, while small businesses of one to 49 employees gained 47,000.

Goods-producing companies grew by 65,000 jobs, including 29,000 in manufacturing, 31,000 in construction and 5,000 in natural resources/mining, according to ADP.

Service-providing companies saw a jobs increase of 176,000 jobs, the company said. The biggest gains were in professional/business services (up 44,000 jobs) and trade/transportation/utilities (up 40,000 jobs), it said.

However, franchise employment dropped 10,600 jobs in April, including a fall of 2,000 jobs in auto parts and dealers, ADP said.

In its monthly Jobs Report, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said its members continue to demonstrate strong economic growth.

The NFIB report said 57 percent of responding small businesses said they were hiring or planning to hire in April, up from 53 percent in March.

Also, 33 percent of respondents said they were offering higher compensation to workers, on par with the previous month and the highest reading since 2000, the federation said.

"The shortage of qualified workers is clearly holding back even stronger economic growth," NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said. "In some industries, nearly half of the firms have unfilled openings. It's especially severe in construction and manufacturing."

Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, noted that the U.S. manufacturing sector has gained 166,000 jobs in the past six months.

"Fears of widespread job losses because of tariffs are so far completely unfounded, as the April jobs data shows," Mr. Paul said. "Manufacturing is still contributing an outsized share of private sector job growth, punching above its weight."