April 2006 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 employment increased by 138,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Industries with notable job gains over the month included financial activities, health care, and manufacturing. Average hourly earnings rose by 9 cents in April.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (7.1 million) was essentially unchanged in April, and the unemployment rate held at 4.7 percent. The jobless rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.2 percent), adult women (4.3 per- cent), teenagers (14.6 percent), whites (4.1 percent), blacks (9.4 percent), and Hispanics (5.4 percent)--showed little or no change over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was about unchanged in April at 143.7 million; the em- ployment-population ratio held at 63.0 percent. The labor force participa- tion rate was 66.1 percent in April and has been in a narrow range--66.0 to 66.2 percent--since April 2005. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally at- tached to the labor force in April, down from 1.5 million a year earlier. These individuals 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. Among the marginally attached, there were 381,000 discouraged workers in April, about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 928,000 marginally attached had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Employment Status of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees (Household Survey Data)

Beginning in October, questions were added to the household survey to identify persons who evacuated from their homes, even temporarily, due to Hurricane Katrina. Data collected through these questions do not account for all evacuees; persons living outside the scope of the survey--such as those living in hotels or shelters--are not included. The questions were asked of persons in the household survey sample throughout the country, since some evacuees relocated far from the storm-affected areas. An ad- ditional question determined whether evacuees had returned to their homes and were living there at the time of the survey. The total number of evac- uees estimated from the household survey may change from month to month as people move in and out of the scope of the survey. In addition, because the estimates are obtained from a sample survey, they may vary from month to month due to sampling error.

Information gathered in April represented about 900,000 persons age 16 and over who had evacuated from where they were living in August due to Hurricane Katrina. These evacuees either had returned to their homes or were living in other residential units covered in the survey. Just over half of the evac- uees were living in their August 2005 residences. Of all evacuees identified, 62.5 percent were in the labor force in April. The unemployment rate for per- sons identified as evacuees was 14.9 percent. The rate was much higher for evacuees who were not living in their former homes (26.5 percent) than for those who were again living at their pre-Katrina residences (5.3 percent). (See table B.)

(Numbers in thousands, not seasonally adjusted)

1 Represents persons in the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over who resided in households that were eligible to be selected for the Current Population Survey (CPS). These data are not representative of the total evacuee population because they do not in- clude children or people residing in shelters, hotels, places of worship, or other units outside the scope of the CPS. The total number of evac- uees estimated from the CPS may change from month to month as people move in and out of the scope of the survey and because of sampling varia- bility. NOTE: These data use population controls that have been adjusted to account for interstate moves by evacuees.

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 138,000 in April to 135.1 million, seasonally adjusted. Notable employment gains occurred in financial activities, health care, and manufacturing. Retail trade lost jobs over the month. (See table B-1.)

Within the service-providing sector, financial activities employment rose by 26,000 in April, as insurance (10,000) and credit intermediation (9,000) gained jobs. Over the year, financial activities employment increased by 213,000.

Health care added 23,000 jobs in April. Over the month, employment ex- panded in nursing and residential care facilities (9,000), hospitals (7,000), and offices of physicians (6,000).

Within professional and business services, employment rose over the month in computer systems design (6,000) and in management and consulting services (6,000). Temporary help services employment was flat over the month and has shown little change since January.

Retail trade employment declined by 36,000 in April. General merchandise stores lost 34,000 jobs over the month, more than offsetting a gain in that industry in March. Wholesale trade employment continued to trend upward in April. Over the year, this industry added 103,000 jobs.

In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing added 19,000 jobs over the month; factory employment has risen by 50,000 since October. In April, em- ployment increased in motor vehicles and parts (12,000), computer and elec- tronic products (7,000), and fabricated metals (5,000). Small employment declines in primary metals, paper products, and textile mills partly offset these gains.

Employment in mining rose by 7,000 in April. This increase was concen- trated within support activities, particularly those related to oil and gas. Since its most recent low in April 2003, mining employment has increased by 106,000, or 21 percent. Construction employment was little changed for the second straight month following large gains in January and February. Over the year, construction added 267,000 jobs.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 hour to 33.9 hours in April, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 41.1 hours, while factory overtime fell by 0.1 hour 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 0.5 percent in April to 104.9 (2002=100). The manufacturing index rose by 0.1 percent to 96.1. (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 9 cents in April to $16.61, seasonally adjusted. This followed gains of 5 cents in March and 7 cents in February. Average week- ly earnings increased by 0.8 percent in April to $563.08. Over the year, aver- age hourly earnings increased by 3.8 percent and average weekly earnings in- creased by 4.1 percent. (See table B-3.)