US April nonfarm payrolls came in at +115k, beating expectations; wage growth year-on-year was 3.6%, below expectations; the S&P 500 moved toward a six-week winning streak

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its employment report for April on May 8: nonfarm payrolls added 115k jobs, beating market consensus of 55k; the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. CNBC summarized this report as a two-sided signal: the employment figure was twice as strong as expected, but it had clearly slowed from March’s 185k; wage growth came in at 3.6% year-over-year, below the expected 3.8%, releasing a milder inflation-pressure signal. In pre-market trading, U.S. stocks rallied; the Dow opened up more than 200 points, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq moved toward their sixth straight week of gains, marking the longest winning streak since October 2024.

Nonfarm +115k: better than expected but slower than March; the Iran war hasn’t crushed jobs

The key comparisons in this data:

April nonfarm payrolls added: 115k jobs

Market consensus: 55k jobs (April number was more than double the upside expectation)

March revised figure: 185k jobs (a strong spring base)

April vs. March: slowed by about 38%

Job growth slowing from April is itself normal—March’s 185k was abnormally strong, and April returned to the middle range. The key takeaway from this report is that “despite the escalation of the Iran war, the U.S. labor market has not deteriorated significantly,” which provides fundamental evidence to support maintaining a long position in risk assets.

Unemployment rate at 4.3% unchanged: the labor market enters a “low demand equals stability” phase

This month’s unemployment rate held at 4.3%, neither rising nor falling. The specific implications of this reading:

The labor market has reached equilibrium—only modest job creation (below 100,000–150k per month) is needed to keep unemployment stable

U.S. labor force growth is slowing (baby boomer retirements, tighter immigration policy), meaning the traditional interpretation that “job numbers = labor market heat” needs to be adjusted

A 4.3% unemployment rate sits in the middle of the historical range and is not a recession signal

Employment changes by sector: healthcare +37k; transportation and warehousing +30k; retail +22k; social assistance +17k; federal government -9k; information services -13k; manufacturing -2k. The consecutive decline in federal government employment reflects the Trump administration’s downsizing; the direction of negative growth in the information sector aligns with arguments that AI has replaced some workflow-related jobs.

Wage growth at 3.6% year-over-year, below expectations: dovish signal for the Fed’s rate-cut path

Wage data is the most policy-relevant part of this report for the Fed:

Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: 0.2% (expected 0.3%)

Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: 3.6% (expected 3.8%)

Directional signal: wage growth is below expectations, reducing concerns about inflation becoming sticky

Wages are the long-term anchor for inflation—if wages don’t rise, companies have less “pricing pressure,” giving the Fed more room for a dovish stance on rate cuts. This wage data, together with April’s overall employment picture, delivers a double positive signal to the market—jobs are steady and inflation is easing—which is the fundamental driver behind the S&P 500’s move toward a sixth week of gains.

Specific events to watch next: the April CPI release on May 13, the May 14 PPI, the Fed June FOMC meeting’s dot plot, and whether the direction of the Iran war will impact jobs in May (this data is through mid-April and does not fully reflect May’s conflict developments).

This article U.S. April nonfarm +115k beats expectations, wage growth at 3.6% year-over-year misses expectations, and the S&P 500 heads toward a 6-week winning streak first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.