Unemployment rate plunges during April
After months of tepid growth and gloomy pronouncements, the nation's employers added workers in April. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 288,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate fell from 6.7 percent in March to 6.3 percent in April -- the lowest rate since September 2008.
There were 9.8 million unemployed workers, a decrease of 733,000. But as always, the bureau presented a mixed bag of statistics.
On the upside:
Industries that posted job gains in April included professional and business services, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and construction.
Professional and business services added 75,000 jobs in April, and retail trade employment rose by 35,000. Food services and drinking places saw 33,000 new jobs. Employment in construction grew by 32,000.
While slow job growth was reported throughout the winter, the bureau has revised its statistics upward for February and March. Employment gains in those months were 36,000 higher than previously reported, the news release said.
On the downside:
The labor force participation rate fell in April. Fewer people were seeking work. The participation rate has shown “no clear trend in recent months and currently is the same as it was this past October,” the bureau said.
People employed part time for “economic reasons” form a subgroup that shows little movement. They are workers on part-time schedules because their hours were cut back or they were unable to find a full-time job. This number changed little –7.5 million in April.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls were unchanged at $24.31, the bureau reported. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.9 percent.
Like us on Facebook and tell us what you think.
Related:
Unemployment rate falls below 7 percent
Unemployment rate dips, lowest since '08
An icy landscape? Job rate freezes
U.S. jobless picture a mixed bag
