One chart reveals the location of job opportunities for April 2024.

• The U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs overall, well below Wall Street expectations.
• Once again, jobs in the health care and social assistance sector increased by 87,000.
• A slower job growth rate could benefit inflation but may raise concerns about a broader economic slowdown.

In April, job growth slowed down, with some areas that had previously shown strong job growth experiencing meager additions or even losses.

Despite Wall Street expectations, the U.S. economy only added 175,000 jobs overall. Health care and social assistance led the way with 87,000 jobs, while construction and leisure and hospitality added fewer than 10,000 jobs each, below the prior two months' gains.

A slower job growth rate could benefit inflation but may raise concerns about a broader economic slowdown.

ZipRecruiter's chief economist, Julia Pollak, stated in a note on Friday that the labor market is showing a gradual slowing of job and wage growth, following what appeared to be a reacceleration in the first quarter.

The report indicates that instead of stagflation, there were solid payroll gains (+175K, 10K more than the 2019 monthly average) and a decrease in wage growth (3.9% YoY, down 0.2 pt). This news is what markets and the Fed were hoping for. The labor market is steady, with disinflationary growth.

The information sector has lost 8,000 jobs in its second negative reading in three months, while professional and business services shed 4,000 positions, with temporary help services leading the way. Some white-collar sectors are showing signs of weakness.

Despite the overall decline in employment, retail trade and transportation and warehousing sectors experienced growth, with retail trade adding 5,000 jobs more than its March number and transportation and warehousing gaining 21,800 jobs.

General merchandise retailers experienced significant growth, adding 10,000 jobs.