U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in April as White House ramped up tariffs

By the numbers: The report is stronger than expected; economists had penciled in roughly 133,000 payrolls added last month.

• The April figures are a slight slowdown from the 185,000 jobs added the prior month, which were downwardly revised by 43,000 payrolls.
• The data on Friday also showed the economy added 102,000 in February, slightly below the 117,000 initially reported.

Details: As has been the case in recent months, the health care sector saw the strongest employment gains, with 51,000 added payrolls in April.

• Federal government employment fell by 9,000 last month — continuing to reflect the effects of government cutbacks. The sector has shed 26,000 jobs since January.
• The Labor Department said that government employees collecting severance pay are categorized as employed in their survey.

The big picture: The jobs data caps a week of key economic releases, including some that showed tariffs weighed on consumer sentiment and the manufacturing sector in April.

• Trump announced reciprocal tariffs early last month, before putting them on ice shortly thereafter.

• But tensions escalated between the U.S. and China, with tariffs on U.S.-bound goods from China rising to 145%.

What to watch: The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring the data for clues about whether the tariffs are a bigger threat to inflation or economic growth.

• It's likely still too soon to tell: The Fed is expected to keep interest rates on hold when its two-day policy meeting concludes next Wednesday, as it has since December.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with sector data.