The US economy added a better-than-expected total of 115,000 jobs in April

(CNN) — The US economy added a stronger-than-expected 115,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.3%, an indication of resilience at a time when war and high gas prices loom large.

April’s employment gains mark an expected retreat from March, when a revised 185,000 jobs were created, boosted by factors such as the end of large labor strikes as well as favorable weather, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.

However, the job growth seen last month was much stronger than the 65,000 that economists had estimated. No change in the unemployment rate was anticipated as factors such as aging demographics, an immigration slowdown and technology adoption have contributed to a slower-moving jobs market.

Kory Kantenga, LinkedIn’s head of economics for the Americas, said April’s topline employment numbers look solid; however, not only is there concern that they won’t be replicated, but also that they’re masking an underlying sluggishness within the labor market.

“Half of the job gains came from retail and transportation and warehousing; those are sectors that do not consistently add jobs,” he said in an interview with CNN. “We’re still creating enough opportunities to keep people generally employed; that said, we still don’t see any momentum in the labor market.”

Another area of concern is the potential effect from the war in Iran and rising energy and gas prices, he said.

White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett touted the better-than-expected jobs numbers in an interview Friday, saying April’s job market gains represent “absolutely blockbuster numbers,” in an interview with Fox News. However, he acknowledged steep headwinds for the economy as the war with Iran trudges on, with gas prices still hovering nationally at $4.55 a gallon Friday.

Where jobs were gained, lost

Healthcare and social assistance – an industry buoyed by an aging population – was once again a leading driver of job gains, adding an estimated 53,900 positions last month.

Another 52,100 jobs came from the transportation and warehousing industry (+30,300 jobs) and retail (+21,800 jobs).

Leisure and hospitality and other services – industries that could be the first to show the effects from a broader pullback in consumer spending – added 14,000 jobs and 10,000 jobs, respectively.

The labor market remains in a “low-hire, low-fire” mode, but some industries have been shedding jobs more than others. Layoffs have picked up speed in the tech industry, with many job cuts being attributed to a greater shift toward investment in artificial intelligence technologies.

In April, the tech-heavy information sector lost 13,000 jobs. Financial activities (down 11,000), government (down 8,000) and manufacturing (down 2,000), also posted losses.

It’s the first month of back-to-back job gains in more than a year, as uncertainty and other factors have rattled the labor market. The monthly payroll numbers have been especially volatile through the first part of this year – in part due to weather, labor strikes and methodological changes.

When smoothing out that volatility, monthly job gains are running at a three-month average of 48,000. Year-to-date, that pace is 76,000 jobs per month.

War impact still looms

While the war in the Middle East wasn’t expected to negatively affect April’s employment numbers, it still presents a risk: The health of the US labor market and the broader economy could be negatively affected if gas prices stay persistently high and cut into consumer spending, raise business costs, as well as trickle into higher prices for other goods and services.

Leisure and hospitality and other services – industries that could be the first to show the effects from a broader pullback in consumer spending – added 14,000 jobs and 10,000 jobs, respectively.

Hiring decisions take a few months to come to fruition, and the early economic data doesn’t yet show that Americans have made significant cutbacks. Consumers’ coffers have been buffered by larger tax refunds, wage gains (although slowing), and wealth boosts (particularly for upper-income consumers).

That could change, especially if their earnings are eaten away by inflation.

In April, average hourly earnings rose 0.2% to put the annual rate of pay gains at 3.6%, landing it above inflation – for now.

The April Consumer Price Index, the most widely used inflation gauge, is expected to show that the annual rate of inflation accelerated to 3.9% from 3.3% in March, FactSet consensus estimates show.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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CNN’s John Towfighi and DJ Judd contributed reporting.