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Nonfarm payroll employment edged up 115,000 in April 2026

May 15, 2026

After little net change over the prior 12 months, nonfarm payroll employment edged up 115,000 in April 2026. These gains were driven by increases in health care, transportation and warehousing, and retail trade, while federal government employment continued to decline.

Chart Image
Chart Data

Nonfarm payroll employment by industry, March 2026 to April 2026
Industry	March 2026	April 2026	Employment change
Total nonfarm	158,621,000	158,736,000	115,000
Health care	18,409,000	18,446,300	37,300
Transportation and warehousing	6,554,000	6,584,300	30,300
Retail trade	15,444,500	15,466,300	21,800
Leisure and hospitality	16,964,000	16,978,000	14,000
Construction	8,312,000	8,321,000	9,000
Professional and business services	22,438,000	22,445,000	7,000
Wholesale trade	6,059,500	6,065,500	6,000
Manufacturing	12,598,000	12,596,000	-2,000
Federal government	2,674,000	2,665,000	-9,000
Financial activities	9,130,000	9,119,000	-11,000
Information	2,786,000	2,773,000	-13,000
Note: Data are seasonally adjusted and the most recent two months are preliminary.

Health care added 37,000 jobs in April, in line with the average monthly gain of 32,000 over the prior 12 months.

Transportation and warehousing employment increased by 30,000 in April. Despite the April increase, employment in this industry was down by 105,000 since its peak in February 2025.

Retail trade gained nearly 22,000 jobs in April, mostly in warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers (+18,000). Retail trade employment changed little over the prior 12 months.

The information sector lost 13,000 jobs in April, including 4,000 in computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, and related services. Information employment was down by 342,000, or 11.0 percent, since its most recent peak in November 2022.

Federal government employment continued to decline in April (−9,000). Since October 2024, federal government employment has fallen by 348,000, or 11.5 percent.

Other major industries—including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, financial activities, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality—showed little employment change in April.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. The most recent two months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — April 2026." We also have more charts of national employment, hours, and earnings data.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Nonfarm payroll employment edged up 115,000 in April 2026 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/nonfarm-payroll-employment-increased-by-115000-in-april-2026.htm (visited May 16, 2026).

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