Updated on: May 8, 2026 / 11:44 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The U.S. labor market continued to defy expectations in April, with employers surpassing economists' forecasts and adding 115,000 jobs nationwide. By the numbers Economists predicted payroll gains of 65,000 in April, according to a consensus forecast from FactSet. The unemployment rate, which has hovered above 4% since June 2024, held steady at 4.3%. Health care and transportation/warehousing companies led job growth in April, adding 37,000 and 30,000 jobs, respectively. Federal employment fell by 9,000. The report follows a strong March report , when employers added a revised 185,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. The Labor Department said Friday that it also revised February's already weak reading down by 23,000, bringing the total number of jobs lost that month to 156,000.  From February to April, employers added an average of 48,000 jobs per month, down slightly from 61,000 over the previous three months.…