April 2004 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 increased by 288,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 5.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The April in- crease in payroll employment follows a gain of 337,000 in March, and job growth again was widespread. In April, employment rose substantially in several service-providing industries, construction continued to add jobs, and there was a noteworthy job gain in durable goods manufacturing.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the unemployment rate, 5.6 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, 8.2 million, were essentially unchanged in April. The unemployment rate has been either 5.6 or 5.7 percent since last December. The unemploy- ment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (5.0 percent), adult women (5.0 percent), teenagers (16.9 percent), whites (4.9 percent), blacks (9.7 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (7.2 percent)--were little changed over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.4 percent in April, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of persons unemployed for 27 weeks or longer declined by 188,000 to 1.8 million in April. These long-term unemployed persons accounted for 22.1 percent of the total unemployed. (See table A-9.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was 138.6 million in April, and the employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and over with jobs--was about unchanged at 62.2 percent. The civilian labor force held at 146.7 million in April, and the civilian labor force participation rate was 65.9 percent for the third straight month. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The number of persons who were marginally attached to the labor force was 1.5 million in April, about the same as a year earlier. (Data are not sea- sonally adjusted.) These individuals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed, however, because they did not actively search for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. There were 492,000 discouraged workers in April, also about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.0 million marginally attached had not searched for work for reasons such as school or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

1 Beginning in January 2004, household data reflect revised population controls used in the Current Population Survey. 2 Includes other industries, not shown separately. 3 Change calculated based on unrounded data. 4 Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers. p=preliminary.

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 288,000 in April to 130.9 million, seasonally adjusted. This followed a gain of 337,000 jobs (as re- vised) in March. Since August 2003, payroll employment has risen by 1.1 mil- lion. Over the month, job growth was widespread, including large gains in several service-providing industries, and smaller gains in both construction and manufacturing. (See table B-1.)

In April, employment growth in manufacturing was concentrated in durable goods, which added 20,000 jobs. Most of the gain in durable goods employment occurred in fabricated metal products (10,000) and machinery (4,000). Since January, manufacturing employment has edged up by 37,000 (as revised). Em- ployment in this industry had declined each month from August 2000 through January 2004.

Construction employment edged higher in April, after a substantial gain in the prior month. Since March 2003, the industry has added 213,000 jobs, bring- ing construction employment slightly above its most recent peak in March 2001.

Employment in a number of service-providing industries grew substantially over the month. Professional and business services employment rose by 123,000 in April. Within this sector, increases occurred in employment ser- vices (60,000), services to buildings and dwellings (30,000), management and technical consulting services (8,000), and architectural and engineering ser- vices (7,000). Within employment services, temporary help services added 35,000 jobs in April and 261,000 over the year.

Retail trade employment edged up in April, with gains in building material and garden supply stores, general merchandise stores, and motor vehicle and parts dealers. Over the year, retail trade has added 103,000 jobs, with much of the gain (72,000) occurring in building material and garden supply stores. Wholesale trade employment was little changed in April, but has risen by 49,000 since October.

Employment increased by 30,000 in health care and social assistance over the month. Since April 2003, this industry has gained 252,000 jobs. In com- parison, the industry added 381,000 jobs from April 2002 to April 2003. Over the month, employment rose in hospitals and in ambulatory health care services (such as doctors' offices and outpatient care centers).

In the leisure and hospitality sector, food services added 34,000 jobs in April. Since December, growth in food services employment has averaged 28,000 per month, about twice the average monthly gain of 2003.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in April, at 33.7 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek declined by 0.3 hour to 40.6 hours. Manufacturing overtime edged down over the month to 4.5 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory work- ers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.3 percent in April to 99.5 (2002=100). The manufacturing index was down by 0.5 percent over the month to 93.8. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 5 cents in April to $15.59, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings increased by 0.3 percent over the month to $525.38. Over the year, average hourly earnings grew by 2.2 percent, and average weekly earnings increased by 2.5 percent. (See table B-3.)