April 1994 Employment Situation

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to increase in April and unemployment was little changed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The nation's jobless rate was 6.4 percent; it had been 6.5 percent in the prior 2 months.

The number of payroll jobs, as measured by the survey of business establishments, increased by 267,000 in April, with notable gains in services, retail trade, and construction. Total employment, as measured by the household survey, rose slightly over the month after showing little change over the first quarter of the year.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons (8.4 million) and the unemployment rate (6.4 percent) were about unchanged over the month. Since January, however, the overall unemployment rate has declined by 0.3 percentage point and the total number of jobless persons has fallen by close to 300,000. The jobless rate for adult women, which has shown no clear trend in recent months, fell by 0.4 percentage point to 5.6 percent in April, equaling the rate for adult men. The rate for teenagers, by contrast, rose from 17.8 to 19.9 percent. Rates for whites (5.6 percent), blacks (11.8 percent), and Hispanics (10.8 percent) were little changed. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Following a substantial increase in March, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons--often referred to as the "partially unemployed"--fell back by 235,000 in April to a level of 4.8 million. Since the beginning of the year, involuntary part-time employment has declined by about 400,000. (See table A-3.) The number of unemployed persons who lost jobs continued to decline over the month, while the number reentering the labor force has risen (table A-6). There was virtually no over-the-month change in the duration of unemployment measures. The average (mean) length of time jobless persons had been unemployed in April was 19.1 weeks, and the median duration of unemployment was 9.2 weeks (table A-5).

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment, which had shown little movement since the beginning of the year, edged up in April, reaching 122.3 million. The employment- population ratio--the proportion of the working-age population with jobs--

was about unchanged at 62.3 percent. (See table A-1.) About 7.3 million workers (not seasonally adjusted), or 6.0 percent of the total employed, held two or more jobs in April (table A-8).

The number of persons in the labor force in April--130.7 million, seasonally adjusted--was little changed from March, while the overall labor force participation rate held at 66.6 percent. (See table A-1.)

Discouraged Workers (Household Survey Data)

The number of discouraged workers--those who wanted a job but gave up searching for work because they believed there were no jobs to be found-- totaled about 500,000 (not seasonally adjusted) in April. (See table A-8.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

The number of employees on nonfarm payrolls rose by 267,000 to 112.1 million in April, seasonally adjusted, despite a strike in the trucking industry which reduced the job count by about 70,000. As in March, some of the April gains reflect a recovery from weather-related weakness earlier in the year. (See table B-1.)

Employment in construction, up 64,000 in April (seasonally adjusted), increased sharply for the second consecutive month. As with the March gain, part of this was a recovery from weather-related declines in January and February, but much of it reflected strong growth in the industry. In contrast, employment in mining fell slightly in April, posting its fourth consecutive monthly decline. This industry has lost 1 out of 6 of its jobs since mid-1990.

Manufacturing employment, while little changed in April, has now gone 7 months without a decline. Since September 1993, factories have added 101,000 jobs. Over-the-month increases in electronic equipment and industrial machinery were offset by job losses in transportation equipment and food processing.

Services employment rose by 146,000 over the month, with over half the gain in the business services component. Much of the rise in business services was concentrated in personnel supply services. Personnel supply, which includes the rapidly growing temporary help segment has accounted for 1 out of every 6 jobs added over the past year. Employment in health services rose by 34,000 over the month; job growth in this industry was stronger in the past 2 months than it had been, partly because hospitals are again adding jobs. The job count in transportation and public utilities fell by 67,000 as a result of the trucking strike.

After falling in January, employment in retail trade recorded its third consecutive monthly increase, rising by 80,000 in April. The bulk of the April gain was in eating and drinking places (54,000), automotive dealers (14,000), and general merchandise stores (10,000). The number of jobs in wholesale trade continued to increase, rising by 16,000 in April. Much of the over-the-month increase in this industry was concentrated in durable goods distribution.

Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate rose slightly, with job gains concentrated in the finance industry. In government, small job pickups occurred at the state and local level. Federal government employment continued its 2-year decline which totals 109,000 since the March 1992 peak.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

Following a sharp rebound in March, the average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in April, after seasonal adjustment. The manufacturing workweek held at a level (42.2 hours) not seen since the end of World War II, and factory overtime remained at the alltime series high of 4.8 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls edged up 0.2 percent to 127.2 (1982=100) in April. The manufacturing index was about unchanged at 104.2. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings and average weekly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls each rose by 0.3 percent in April, after seasonal adjustment, to $11.06 and $383.78, respectively. Over the past year, average hourly earnings rose by 2.7 percent and average weekly earnings by 3.6 percent. (See table B-3.)