U.S. employment continued to increase at a robust pace in April and wage growth moderated, though a surprise drop in the participation rate suggests the labor market will remain exceedingly tight.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 428,000 in April, matching the prior month, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate held at 3.6% as the size of the labor force declined. Average hourly earnings rose from a month earlier.
The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 380,000 advance in payrolls and for the unemployment rate to fall to 3.5%.
