First jobs report since Trump’s tariffs stuns Wall Street

By BEN SHIMKUS, CONSUMER REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 13:33 BST, 2 May 2025 | Updated: 14:22 BST, 2 May 2025

The US jobs market just pulled off another surprise — Wall Street took notice.  

Employers added 177,000 jobs in April, blowing past analyst predictions of 135,000. 

The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent, easing fears that tariffs and sweeping federal job cuts had already begun to erode the workforce. 

It’s the second month in a row that job growth has outpaced predictions: payrolls initially increased by 228,000 in March (it was eventually revised down to 185,000). 

US stock index futures extended gains after the stronger-than-expected jobs report calmed worries over the health of the labor market amid tensions of a global trade war.

At 8.30am ET, futures for the Dow Jones were up 299 points, or 0.73 percent, for the S&P 500 were up 42.25 points, or 0.75 oercent, and for the Nasdaq were up 139.5 points, or 0.70 percent. 

‘There are fears that falling consumer confidence and the volatile trade policies from the Administration could ultimately weigh on retail sales and the labor market,’ Bret Kenwell, the US investment and options analyst at eToro told DailyMail.com. 

‘Although consumers have been shifting how they spend their money, they’re still spending, and that can keep powering the US economy forward.’ 

The US added a surprising number of jobs in April 

April’s jobs numbers also extended a historic streak, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The US has now added jobs for 52 consecutive months, the second longest streak in American history. 

It’s been over four years of continued job growth. The last time the US recorded job losses was in early 2021, when employers were still grappling with rampant Covid infections before mass vaccination campaigns. 

Digging deeper into April’s numbers, the US saw surprising growth in several key employment sectors.   

Transportation and warehousing companies added 29,000 jobs last month, suggesting that companies have been stocking up before tariff impacts smack US consumers. 

Healthcare companies added nearly 51,000 jobs. Bars and restaurants hired 17,000 workers. Construction firms expanded by 11,000 contracts.

Factories lost 1,000 jobs. 

But experts still believe jobs numbers are about to get worse in the coming months. 

The stock market’s major indexes, including the Nasdaq, all saw major increases in the minutes after the jobs report

Wall Street analysts expected much lower jobs numbers in April

President Trump’s tariff and federal jobs policies expected to sink jobs numbers – so far, they haven’t

‘Let’s not fool ourselves, things are going to get worse later this year, probably later in the summer,’ Robert Frick, Navy Federal Credit Union’s corporate economist, told CNN. 

Earlier this week, the US reported its gross domestic product (GDP) ratings. They were far less rosy for the US economy. 

The numbers, which compares the money sloshing into and out of the US from January through March, showed the US economy contracted by 0.3 percent. 

Previously, the US had expanded by 2.4 percent. 

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First jobs report since Trump’s tariffs stuns Wall Street

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