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Why it matters: The hot labor market is a signal that the Fed’s anti-inflationary policies are not working well enough. But there are signs the market is slowing, particularly the February and March revisions.

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• This means the Fed will likely stick to its plan to pause interest rate hikes to give it more time to see the impact of the moves it has made.

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Be smart: Even with the strong job numbers the labor force contracted by 43,000. Still, we are now 2.2 million workers above the pre-pandemic participation level.

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• But, if we had the same participation rate now as in February 2020, there would be almost 2 million more workers in the labor force. Employers continue facing a worker shortage crisis.

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By the numbers:  

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• Wages rose 0.5% from March, and 4.4% annually from April 2022.

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• Education and Health added 77,000 jobs; Professional and Business Services 43,000; Leisure and Hospitality 31,000; Government 23,000; Construction 15,000; Manufacturing 11,000; Transportation and Warehousing 11,000; Mining and Logging 7,000; Wholesale and Retail Trade 5,500; Other Services 1,000; Information 1,000; and Utilities 1,000.

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• No industries lost jobs in April.