The US economy created 266,000 jobs in April, a big miss compared to expectations that the rapid US vaccination rollout and fiscal stimulus measures would generate employment gains close to 1m.
The implication for the recovery is that America’s boom coming out of the winter surge in coronavirus cases is not quite as strong as believed. The official data released on Friday validate the Federal Reserve’s long-held view that the US recovery is far from complete, and is bound to ease some fears of surging inflation and overheating.
But it also challenges the Biden administration’s hopes for a rapidly improving economy and the prediction by Janet Yellen, the Treasury secretary, that the US could be back to full employment by next year.