Labor Market and Economy Report: A Look at Trends in April 2025

By Eliza Hetrick

Executive Summary

Job Growth

The U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in April. Notable gains occurred in healthcare (+50,600), transportation and warehousing (+29,000), financial activities (+14,000) and social assistance (+7,600), while notable declines occurred in the federal government (-9,000).

Other key industries, such as manufacturing and construction, experienced minimal changes to employment levels as companies dealt with ongoing financial, economic and political uncertainty.

Unemployment and Labor Force Participation

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2% between March and April. The labor force participation rate increased slightly from 62.5% to 62.6%.

Unemployment rates specific to the industries Aston Carter supports were as follows for April: finance and insurance (2.3%) professional and business services (4.4%), hospitals (1.7%), utilities (1.5%), manufacturing (3.2%) and construction (6.1%).

Among skilled labor categories Aston Carter sources talent for, unemployment in business and financial was 2.3% and office and administrative was 3.7%.

Inflation

The year-over-year inflation rate increased by 2.3% between April 2024 and April 2025, slightly below March’s reading of 2.4%. Over the past three months, inflation has made further progress toward the Federal Reserve's 2.0% target. However, due to heightened economic uncertainty, the Federal Reserve has not yet cut interest rates in 2025, emphasizing the importance of a cautious approach to policy adjustments.

Wage Growth

Average hourly earnings increased by 3.8% for the 12 months ending April, unchanged from the increase recorded in March. “Real” average hourly earnings (wages adjusted for inflation) increased by 1.4% between April 2024 and April 2025. In other words, average hourly earnings are keeping up with inflation, but consumers may still be feeling the pressure of higher prices.