America’s economy maintained its strong momentum in April, as the U.S. added 428,000 jobs — above the consensus estimate of 395,000. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, remained unchanged at 3.6 percent.
Average hourly earnings for workers climbed by 0.3 percent month-on-month, a slower pace than the 0.5 percent seen last month. Year-on-year, earnings were up 5.5 percent, compared with an inflation rate of 8.2 percent. That means many workers, even if employed, may not be benefiting from the post-pandemic economic recovery.