Story perspectives

Hiring Up, Unemployment Down, Layoffs Up, Powell Says Stable

5/6/2026

Summary

BLS Announces Hiring Surge

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported hires rose by 655,000 to 5.6 million, lowering unemployment to 4.3%.
Professional and business services, accommodation and food services, and transportation, warehousing and utilities added 397,000 hires in March, while federal hiring fell by 7,000.
Layoffs and discharges rose by 153,000 in March, prompting Fed Chair Jerome Powell on April 29 to say the labor market is stable and the federal funds rate sits at 3.5%–3.75%.

Summary

Trump Targets Deficits

Exports rose 2.0% to a record $320.9 billion in March, while goods imports climbed 3.6% to $302.2 billion, widening the trade deficit to $60.3 billion and the goods-trade gap to $88.7 billion.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs target deficits, though chief economist Christopher Rupkey says imports stay near record levels.
New single-family home sales jumped 7.4% to 682,000 units in March, while the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.46%, prompting builder price cuts.

Summary

ISM Slows

The Institute for Supply Management reported the ISM services index fell to 53.6 in April, its lowest since November.
The ISM new-orders component dropped to 53.5 in April after reaching 60.6 in March, suggesting a slowdown.
The March JOLTS report showed a 126,000 decline in job openings, the second consecutive monthly drop.
February new-home sales rose 8.9% to 635,000 units, contrasting with a 19.9% January plunge blamed on weather.

History

Historical Context

After the September 15 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, the U.S. Treasury passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, creating a $700 billion TARP, while the Federal Reserve drove the federal-funds rate to a 0–0.25 % floor. Unemployment later hit 10 % in October 2009, a benchmark that today’s rising hires and trade deficits invoke as policymakers weigh inflation-fighting rate hikes.

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BLS Announces Hiring Surge

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported hires rose by 655,000 to 5.6 million, lowering unemployment to 4.3%.
Professional and business services, accommodation and food services, and transportation, warehousing and utilities added 397,000 hires in March, while federal hiring fell by 7,000.
Layoffs and discharges rose by 153,000 in March, prompting Fed Chair Jerome Powell on April 29 to say the labor market is stable and the federal funds rate sits at 3.5%–3.75%.

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