Update on Job Growth Ahead of Mother’s Day Weekend
7:19 AM – Saturday, May 9, 2026 – President Donald Trump has expressed his approval of the recent jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which indicated that the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, just before Mother’s Day weekend.
“Happy Mother’s Day weekend to all, especially to the 115 THOUSAND AMERICANS who found jobs in the month of April alone!” Trump shared on Truth Social on Friday evening. He commented on how over 90 percent of Bloomberg Economists (who he claims have a “Terminal” case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME) underestimated the strength of the Trump Economy. He pointed out that, despite the challenges posed by Jerome ‘Too Late and Won’t Leave’ Powell and the Democrat Party, more Americans are employed than ever before.
He continued, “Happy Mother’s Day and, know that, we are MAKING AMERICA WEALTHY AND SAFE AGAIN!”
The president included a bar graph illustrating the discrepancy between the expected and actual job growth in April. Economists had anticipated the addition of between 62,000 and 67,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department.
9:44 AM – Friday, May 8, 2026 – The April jobs report released by the BLS showed an increase of 115,000 jobs, nearly doubling the London Stock Exchange’s (LSEG) forecast of 62,000. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%. The number of unemployed people stood at 7.4 million, which has “changed little over the year.”
The job growth was largely concentrated in sectors including healthcare, transportation, warehousing, and some areas of retail trade.
Healthcare alone added 37,000 jobs, consistent with its average monthly gain of 32,000 for the past year. Around 15,000 of these positions were in nursing and residential care facilities, while the remaining 11,000 came from home health care services.
Transportation and warehousing saw a boost of 30,000 jobs last month; notably, warehousing had reached peak employment in February 2025.
Retail jobs increased by 22,000 in April, although these gains were somewhat offset by a loss of approximately 7,000 jobs in department stores and about 2,000 in electronics and appliance retailers.
Additionally, social assistance positions grew by around 17,000.
Contrarily, federal government employment fell by 9,000, continuing a decline since its peak in October 2024, with an overall reduction of 348,000 jobs, equating to an 11.5% decrease.
The information sector also shrank by about 13,000 jobs in April, representing an 11% drop since its peak in November 2022.
Previously, when immigration levels were higher from 2021 to 2024, it was estimated that the economy needed to add more than 100,000 jobs each month to keep up with workforce growth. Economists now suggest this “break-even” number could be as low as zero, attributed to reduced immigration and the impact of retiring baby boomers, as younger generations may not replace them as quickly.
