April Employment Situation (jobs report) due out this Friday, May 8, 2026. Last report released April 3, 2026 was for March 2026. It showed the economy added 178,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in March, the strongest month in the trailing year, unemployment rate at 4.3%, and average hourly earnings +3.5% year-over-year (not on chart). The last 12 months saw five months of job losses: June, August, October, December and February. (chart 1)
Last Employment Cost Index report was released April 30, 2026 and was for Q1 2026. It showed total compensation growth has steadily decelerated from a peak of 5.1% year-over-year in mid-2022 to 3.4% as of March 2026. Wages and salaries followed the same path, now also at 3.4%. The gap between total compensation and wages has essentially closed, suggesting benefit cost growth has normalized. (chart 2)
