April 1998 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.

Employment increased, and unemployment fell sharply in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.

The unemployment rate declined to 4.3 percent in April; from November through March, the rate had been either 4.6 or 4.7 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment grew by 262,000, following a small decline in March. Manufacturing was weak for the third straight month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons declined from 6.5 to 5.9 million in April, and the unemployment rate fell from 4.7 to 4.3 percent. This improvement was widespread across the major demographic groups. Unemployment rates in April were 3.4 percent for adult men, 4.1 percent for adult women, 13.1 percent for teenagers, 3.6 percent for whites, 8.9 percent for blacks, and 6.5 percent for Hispanics. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Across the major educational attainment categories, the largest unemployment rate declines for persons 25 years of age and over took place for those with a high school diploma only (to 3.9 percent) and for those with some college experience but no bachelor’s degree (to 2.7 percent). The jobless rates were 7.0 percent for those with less than a high school diploma and 1.7 percent for college graduates. (See table A-3.)

The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks declined by 226,000 to 2.6 million in April, after rising in March. The number unemployed for 15 weeks or longer, 1.4 million, also fell over the month and has declined by 630,000 over the year, after adjustment is made for changes in the composite estimation procedure. The number of unemployed job losers on temporary layoff and the number of job leavers both fell over the month. (See tables A-6 and A-7.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment rose by 389,000 in April to 131.4 million. Over the year, employment has risen by 2.3 million, after adjusting for changes in the composite estimation procedure. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--returned to its all- time high of 64.2 percent in April. (See table A-1.)

About 7.9 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in April. They comprised 6.1 percent of the total employed. (See table A-10.)

The civilian labor force, 137.2 million (seasonally adjusted), was about unchanged over the month. The labor force participation rate edged down to 67.0 percent. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in April, down about 200,000 from a year earlier. These were people who wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

The number of discouraged workers--a subset of the marginally attached who were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them--totaled 344,000 in April, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 262,000 in April, after seasonal adjustment, following a small decline in March. Employment in construction, services, and retail trade rebounded in April, after showing weakness in the prior month. Finance, insurance, and real estate continued its strong growth, while manufacturing payrolls edged down. (See table B-1.)

Within the goods-producing sector, construction added 35,000 jobs, seasonally adjusted, following a weather-related decline (-85,000) in March. Since last October, employment in this industry has expanded by 178,000.

Manufacturing employment declined by 10,000 in April. Between September and January, factory employment rose by 169,000; in contrast, since January, 16,000 jobs have been lost. In April, declines occurred in electronic components (-4,000) and industrial machinery (-2,000). Until February, both industries had shown strong and consistent growth for about a year. The apparel industry continued to shrink, losing 6,000 jobs in April, and employment in paper and allied products declined by 3,000 over the month. In contrast, job growth continued in furniture, and employment rose by 3,000 in stone, clay, and glass products, offsetting the prior month’s decline.

In the service-producing sector, the services industry added 139,000 jobs, following a relatively small rise (38,000) in March. Help supply services gained 30,000 jobs in April, after a decline of 21,000 in the previous month. Employment growth remained strong in computer services (20,000) and engineering and management services (19,000). Employment in agricultural services rose by 10,000, after 2 consecutive months of losses. Following weakness in March, health services showed a moderate employment increase of 14,000 in April. Gains in hospitals and doctors’ offices were partly offset by continuing losses in home health care.

Low mortgage rates and a strong stock market contributed to employment gains in finance, insurance, and real estate. The number of jobs in real estate grew by 12,000 in April, and employment in mortgage brokerages rose by 4,000. Security brokerages continued to exhibit strong growth, adding 3,000 jobs over the month.

Wholesale trade employment grew by 11,000 over the month, with durable goods distribution adding 7,000 jobs. In retail trade, eating and drinking places added 33,000 jobs, recouping much of its March decline.

Employment in transportation and public utilities was relatively flat in April. A large gain in trucking (14,000) was offset by declines in air transportation and in local transportation (both -7,000). Government employment was little changed over the month.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.3 hour in April to 34.4 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek dropped by 1.1 hour to 40.7 hours, and factory overtime fell by 0.8 hour to 3.9 hours. These declines reflect, in large part, the unusual timing of the Easter weekend in relation to the survey reference period. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.4 percent to 142.9 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index declined by 2.7 percent to 106.0. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased 4 cents in April to $12.67, seasonally adjusted. Reflecting the decline in the workweek, average weekly earnings decreased by 0.5 percent to $435.85. Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings have risen by 4.4 and 4.1 percent, respectively. (See table B-3.)