Payroll employment rises by 211,000 in April; unemployment rate changes little at 4.4%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Payroll employment rises by 211,000 in April; unemployment rate changes little at 4.4%

Economic News Release USDL-17-0551

Employment Situation Summary

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, May 5, 2017

Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 * cesinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov


THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- APRIL 2017


Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance, financial activities, and mining.

Household Survey Data

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 7.1 million, changed little in April. Over the year, the unemployment rate has declined by 0.6 percentage point, and the number of unemployed has fallen by 854,000. (See table A-1.)
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The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.6 million in April and accounted for 22.6 percent of the unemployed. Over the year, the number of long-term unemployed was down by 433,000. (See table A-12.)

The labor force participation rate, at 62.9 percent, changed little in April and has shown little movement over the past year. The employment-population ratio, at 60.2 percent, was also little changed over the month but was up by 0.5 percentage point since December. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) declined by 281,000 to 5.3 million in April. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs. Over the past 12 months, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons has decreased by 698,000. (See table A-8.)

In April, 1.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, down by 181,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 455,000 discouraged workers in April, down by 113,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.1 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in April had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in April. Employment rose in leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance, financial activities, and mining. (See table B-1.)
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In April, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 7 cents to $26.19. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 65 cents, or 2.5 percent. In April, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 6 cents to $21.96. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised up from +219,000 to +232,000, and the change for March was revised down from +98,000 to +79,000. With these revisions, employment gains in February and March combined were 6,000 lower than previously reported. Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors. Over the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 174,000.

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The Employment Situation for May is scheduled to be released on Friday, June 2, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

Read more: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

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Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.

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If you're strapped for time, the quick read is here: Commissioner's Statement on The Employment Situation
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jec.nr0.htm

Statement of

William J. Wiatrowski
Acting Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, May 5, 2017

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5 Things to Watch in the April Jobs Report
https://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2017/05/04/5-things-to-watch-in-the-april-jobs-report-3/

The Labor Department releases its April jobs report Friday and economists expect hiring perked back up after a March slowdown. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the report will show nonfarm payrolls increased a seasonally adjusted 188,000 last month after growing by just 98,000 in March. They forecast the unemployment rate to tick up to 4.6% from 4.5%.

4 May 2017 7:37am By Eric Morath

Eric.Morath@wsj.com
@EricMorath
https://twitter.com/EricMorath

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Two days ago at DU:

Private-sector hiring slowest in four months, ADP says
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141765766

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February was revised up; March was revised down.

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April Jobs Report: Everything You Need to Know
http://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/april-jobs-report-payrolls-labor-employment-analysis

Last Updated May 5, 2017 at 8:41 am ET
The Labor Department releases its April jobs report Friday and economists expect hiring perked back up after a March slowdown.

Some recent comments:

1m

U-6 Unemployment Rate Falls to New 10-Year Low
The so-called U-6 unemployment rate, which includes those who have stopped looking and those in part-time jobs who want full-time positions, was 8.6% in April, compared with 8.9% the prior month. It was the lowest level since late 2007.

Chris Dieterich

5m

Unemployment Rate is Now the Lowest in Almost Decade
The tenth of a percentage point decline in the unemployment rate in April pushed it down to 4.4%, the lowest level in almost a decade.

In May 2007, it was also 4.4%, and the rate hasn't been lower than that since May 2001.

The rate fell last month because the number of employed Americans grew faster than growth in the labor force.

On its own, the rate suggests that the U.S. is at or near what economists consider the "maximum" level of employment--or a healthy level of growth that won't stoke a surge in wage inflation.

The Fed project's that unemployment over the long run will average 4.7% to 5%.

Joshua Mitchell

10m

Labor Force Participation Rate Slips to 62.9%
The labor force participation rate, a measure of all the people who could be working, who are working, was 62.9% in April, down slightly from 63% in March, and up slightly from 62.8% in April 2016.

The employment-to-population ratio, a measure of the work force compared to the overall population, edged up to 60.2%, from 60.1%.

These numbers have moved only marginally over the past year.

Paul Vigna

15m

Revisions Make March Look Even Worse
The report also revised the earlier figures for February and March. February was revised up from 219,000 jobs added to 232,000 jobs added, and the already underwhelming March figure was revised down from 98,000 jobs added to 79,000 jobs added.

With these revisions, employment gains in February and March combined were 6,000 lower than previously reported.

Over the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 174,000.

Erik Holm

27m

Keep a Close Eye on Participation
Since the recession ended in 2009, the share of Americans participating in the labor force has plummeted. That partially reflects an aging population. But in the past year, that decline in the participation rate has leveled off at near Marchs reading of 63%.

If the rate edges up, that could show Americans are coming off the sidelines, or at least are reluctant to leave the workforce.

Eric Morath