April 2008 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 was little changed in April (-20,000), following job losses that totaled 240,000 in the first 3 months of the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The unem- ployment rate, at 5.0 percent, also was little changed in April. Employment continued to decline in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade, while jobs were added in health care and in professional and technical services.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (7.6 million) and the unemployment rate (5.0 percent) were little changed in April. A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 6.8 million, and the jobless rate was 4.5 percent. Over the month, the unemployment rates for most major worker groups--adult men (4.6 percent), teenagers (15.4 percent), whites (4.4 percent), blacks (8.6 percent), and Hispanics (6.9 percent)--showed little or no change. The jobless rate for adult women decreased to 4.3 percent in April, nearly off- setting an increase in the prior month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.2 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in April. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Both total employment, at 146.3 million, and the employment-population ratio, at 62.7 percent, were little changed in April. Over the month, the labor force participation rate held at 66.0 percent; it was the same rate a year earlier. (See table A-1.)

In April, the number of persons working part time for economic reasons increased by 306,000 to 5.2 million. This level was 849,000 higher than in April 2007. These individuals indicated that they were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-5.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in April. 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 pre- ceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 412,000 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 avail- able for them. The other 1.0 million persons classified as marginally attached to the labor force in April cited reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in April (-20,000). Job losses continued in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade. Employment grew in health care and in professional and technical services. (See table B-1.)

In April, employment in construction declined by 61,000, with losses continuing throughout most of the sector. Since its peak in September 2006, construction em- ployment has fallen by 457,000.

Manufacturing employment fell by 46,000 over the month; nearly all the decline occurred in durable goods manufacturing. In April, large job losses occurred in motor vehicles and parts (-17,000) and in fabricated metal products (-11,000). Declines also occurred in furniture and related products (-4,000) and in semicon- ductors and electronic components (-3,000). Over the past 12 months, manufacturing employment has declined by 326,000.

Employment in retail trade continued to trend down, with a decrease of 27,000 in April. Since its peak in March 2007, the industry has shed 137,000 jobs. Over the month, job losses continued in building material and garden supply stores (-12,000) and in department stores (-8,000).

Employment in health care continued to increase in April with a gain of 37,000. This industry has added 365,000 jobs over the past 12 months. In April, there were gains of 22,000 jobs in ambulatory health care services and 9,000 jobs in hospitals.

Professional and technical services employment rose by 27,000 in April after showing little change during the first quarter of 2008. Computer systems design added 10,000 jobs over the month and employment in accounting and bookkeeping ser- vices edged up by 9,000. Employment in temporary help services continued to trend down.

Employment continued to trend upward in food services in April (18,000), although job gains in this industry have slowed over the past 6 months. Since October 2007, food services employment has grown by an average of 13,000 per month; this compares to an average increase of 28,000 jobs per month for the preceding 12-month period.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

In April, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on pri- vate nonfarm payrolls was down by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek declined by 0.3 hour to 40.9 hours, and factory overtime was down by 0.1 hour to 3.9 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.4 percent in April to 107.2 (2002=100). The man- ufacturing index declined by 1.2 percent to 92.0. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

In April, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 1 cent, or 0.1 percent, to $17.88, seasonally adjusted. This followed gains of 6 cents in February and in March. Average weekly earnings fell by 0.2 percent in April to $602.56. Over the past 12 months, aver- age hourly earnings increased by 3.4 percent and average weekly earnings rose by 3.1 percent. (See table B-3.)