Mitchell Hartman

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Economists' predictions for April job creation are all over the map, from 50,000 on up.

Bill Adams at Fifth Third Commercial Bank is predicting 120,000 new jobs after the bullish report on private sector growth from ADP.

Employers added jobs at the fastest pace since early 2025.

Jobless claims ticking lower in recent weeks, another sign that people who are losing jobs are finding them relatively quickly.

True, the Iran war and soaring oil prices are a major source of uncertainty for employers going forward.

But Adams says after holding back on hiring in the face of tariff uncertainty last year, many businesses are now feeling more confident.

There are worrying signs in the mix of jobs the economy's creating, says Dan North at credit insurer Allianz Trade.

Driven largely by the needs of aging baby boomers.

That to me is a little bit fragile.

Gosh, what would it be if we didn't have an aging population?

Well, then you'd have to wonder, oh, where is the growth coming from?

Another cause for concern, deteriorating wage growth, says Dean Baker at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Back in 2024 and 2025, average hourly earnings were rising around 4% a year.

But by March 2026, wage gains had fallen to just 3.5%, at the same time inflation was spiking from the Iran war.

In a context where inflation is somewhere around 3%, you're talking about real wage growth going to near zero.

Eroding workers' purchasing power.

I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.