Below, EPI economists offer their initial insights on the jobs report released this morning, which showed 253,000 jobs added in April.

From EPI senior economist, Elise Gould (@eliselgould):

Read the full Twitter thread here.

In April 2023, the share of workers 25-54 with a job—also referred to as the prime-age EPOP—is 80.8%, higher than its pre-pandemic peak of 80.6% in January 2020. It is now at its highest level in over 20 years (since 2001). pic.twitter.com/D3PKPNCMe1

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) May 5, 2023

Black unemployment hit a series low of 4.7% in April 2023 (this series began in 1972). While on its face this is promising news, it was accompanied by a drop in labor force participation and employment. Plus, it’s a volatile series. But I hope it stick as participation rebounds. pic.twitter.com/t7wYYszO5k

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) May 5, 2023

From EPI president, Heidi Shierholz (@hshierholz):

Read the full Twitter thread here. 

The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.4% in April—matching 50-year lows. The prime age labor force participation rate and the prime age employment-to-population ratio both ticked up. 2/

— Heidi Shierholz (@hshierholz) May 5, 2023

THIS IS IMPORTANT: The labor market is strong, but it’s not “too hot.” Wage growth is generally trending down. We can absolutely sustain the kind of labor market tightness we are seeing today, if the Fed doesn’t stand in the way (or hasn’t already). 4/

— Heidi Shierholz (@hshierholz) May 5, 2023

And it’s in large part because, unlike with the Great Recession, Congress did what was needed to spur a robust recovery this time around (namely, CARES and ARPA). And no, those relief and recovery packages are not to blame for inflation. 13/ https://t.co/80YTuhfsBZ

— Heidi Shierholz (@hshierholz) May 5, 2023