JOBS REPORT: Trump Economy Roars Ahead with Big Private Sector Job Gains

"The April jobs report smashing expectations thanks to robust private-sector growth is yet another sign that the American economy remains on a solid trajectory under President Trump. America added 12,600 factory construction jobs in April as trillions in investments continue pouring into American manufacturing. Every leading indicator is pointed in the right direction, and Americans can rest assured that the best is yet to come."
- White House spokesman Kush Desai

Here's what you need to know:

• The U.S. labor market is surging. The economy added 115,000 jobs in April - crushing economists' expectations and delivering the second straight month of strong gains. In 2026, the economy has powered ahead with an average of 76,000 new jobs per month, a big leap from the 10,000 monthly average in 2025.
• Economists keep getting it wrong as they underestimate the strength of the Trump economy. 94% of Bloomberg economists (65 out of 69) completely missed April's impressive growth, continuing their pattern of underestimating the momentum of the current expansion.
• American manufacturing is roaring back. The economy added 12,600 factory construction jobs in April alone, propelled by trillions in new investments flooding into advanced manufacturing and data centers. The first quarter of 2026 delivered the first manufacturing job growth since 2023, with every major indicator now flashing strong expansion after years of Biden-era decline.
• President Trump is dramatically shrinking the federal bureaucracy. His bold efforts have already slashed the federal workforce by 345,000 workers, making the federal government the smallest it has been since May 1966 - and the smallest it has ever been as a share of the total workforce.
• American workers are flooding back into the workforce. Prime-age labor force participation remains exceptionally strong, with prime-age female participation hovering near its all-time high and prime-age male participation at its highest level since 2009. Workers are proudly coming off the sidelines and powering the Trump Economy.

Here's what they're saying:

• The Wall Street Journal: "The U.S. job market blew past expectations again in April, buoyed by gains across industries including retail, transportation and warehousing, and healthcare, a sign that the labor market remained resilient in the face of the Iran war."
• Bloomberg Economics Chief U.S. Economist Anna Wong: "April hiring was surprisingly robust… The most interesting detail in April's jobs report is from the area that powered more than half the month's job gains: the freight sector. That confirms the improvement flagged by recent strong readings in PMIs and regional Fed manufacturing surveys: A strong recovery may be underway in the industrial sector."
• Politico: "President Donald Trump's labor market is bouncing back."
• The New York Times reporter Tony Romm: "The jobs report gives President Trump a favorable data point to tout."
• Economist Steve Moore: "This is a real tribute to a lot of Trump policies… The buzzword for today is 'resilience'"
• Northlight Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Chris Zaccarelli: "The economy is so much better than what the doom crew has been saying… The labor market is adding jobs, GDP is growing and corporate profits are expanding at a rapid pace."
• Lombard Odier Investment Managers Head of Macro Research Florian Ielpo: "What is not to like? It is better than expected without being too strong, and it does not look directly inflationary."
• CNBC anchor Rick Santelli: "We are much stronger… These are good numbers."
• Fox Business Network anchor Cheryl Casone: "We got a much better than expected jobs report for the month of April. 115,000 jobs is the nonfarm number. The expectation was 62,000. Again, a strong print for the U.S. jobs picture."
• Citizens Bank Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Markets Eric Merlis: "The April jobs report is a clear upside surprise… Importantly, the data suggests the hostilities in the Middle East have had little visible impact on the U.S. job market."
• Navy Federal Credit Union Chief Economist Heather Long: "Good news. The US economy added a strong 115,000 jobs in April (and March was revised higher to 185,000!) The unemployment rate stayed at 4.3%. Hiring was strong in healthcare (about 1/3 of job gains in April), retail and transportation/warehouse."
• Job Creators Network CEO Alfredo Ortiz: "Small businesses are really the generators of job creation and never has been more the truth than that than this particular week and this particular year under this Administration and under the leadership of Kelly Loeffler, small businesses are leading the charge here."
• CNN's Matt Egan: "This was a big beat for the job market… The U.S. economy adding 115,000 jobs in April - that's almost twice as much as the consensus from economists."
• The New York Times reporter Lydia DePillis: "That's another surprisingly good showing, up about twice what economists expected."