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Civilian labor force participation rate up in April
09 May '09
6 min read
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 539,000 in April to 132.4 million; private sector employment declined by 611,000. Since the recession began in December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 5.7 million. In April, job losses continued in most major private-sector industries. Employment rose in the federal government mainly due to hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010.
Employment in manufacturing fell by 149,000 over the month, with widespread job losses among the component industries. Three durable goods industries-- transportation equipment (-34,000), fabricated metal products (-29,000), and machinery (-22,000)--accounted for more than half of the decline. Since September 2008, manufacturing has lost 1.2 million jobs.
Construction employment declined by 110,000 in April, with losses spread throughout the sector. Over the past 6 months, job losses have averaged 120,000 per month, compared with 46,000 per month from December 2007 through October 2008.
The professional and business services industry lost 122,000 jobs in April. This industry has shed an average of 139,000 jobs per month since October 2008. Half of the April decline occurred in temporary help services.
Employment in retail trade fell by 47,000 in April. Job losses in department stores (-14,000), automobile dealers (-9,000), and building material and garden supply stores (-8,000) accounted for most of the decline. Wholesale trade employment was down by 41,000 over the month, with much of the decrease among durable goods wholesalers.
Employment in transportation and warehousing declined by 38,000 in April, with losses concentrated in truck transportation (-16,000) and warehousing and storage (-8,000). Employment in financial activities declined by 40,000 over the month. Job losses occurred throughout the sector, including real estate and rental and leasing (-15,000) and credit intermediation and related activities (-14,000). The leisure and hospitality industry lost 44,000 jobs in April.
Health care employment grew by 17,000 in April. Job gains in health care have averaged 17,000 per month thus far in 2009, down from an average of 30,000 per month during 2008. Employment in federal government rose by 66,000 over the month largely due to the hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010 preparatory work.
The change in total nonfarm employment for February was revised from -651,000 to -681,000, and the change for March was revised from -663,000 to -699,000. Monthly revisions result from additional sample reports and the monthly recalculation of seasonal factors.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
In April, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.2 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.2 hour to 39.6 hours, and factory overtime rose by 0.1 hour to 2.7 hours.
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.6 percent in April. The manufacturing index declined by 0.9 percent over the month.
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data) In April, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was essentially unchanged. This followed a gain of 4 cents in March. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings increased by 3.2 percent, and average weekly earnings rose by 1.3 percent.
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Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 539,000 in April to 132.4 million; private sector employment declined by 611,000. Since the recession began in December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 5.7 million. In April, job losses continued in most major private-sector industries. Employment rose in the federal government mainly due to hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010.
Employment in manufacturing fell by 149,000 over the month, with widespread job losses among the component industries. Three durable goods industries-- transportation equipment (-34,000), fabricated metal products (-29,000), and machinery (-22,000)--accounted for more than half of the decline. Since September 2008, manufacturing has lost 1.2 million jobs.
Construction employment declined by 110,000 in April, with losses spread throughout the sector. Over the past 6 months, job losses have averaged 120,000 per month, compared with 46,000 per month from December 2007 through October 2008.
The professional and business services industry lost 122,000 jobs in April. This industry has shed an average of 139,000 jobs per month since October 2008. Half of the April decline occurred in temporary help services.
Employment in retail trade fell by 47,000 in April. Job losses in department stores (-14,000), automobile dealers (-9,000), and building material and garden supply stores (-8,000) accounted for most of the decline. Wholesale trade employment was down by 41,000 over the month, with much of the decrease among durable goods wholesalers.
Employment in transportation and warehousing declined by 38,000 in April, with losses concentrated in truck transportation (-16,000) and warehousing and storage (-8,000). Employment in financial activities declined by 40,000 over the month. Job losses occurred throughout the sector, including real estate and rental and leasing (-15,000) and credit intermediation and related activities (-14,000). The leisure and hospitality industry lost 44,000 jobs in April.
Health care employment grew by 17,000 in April. Job gains in health care have averaged 17,000 per month thus far in 2009, down from an average of 30,000 per month during 2008. Employment in federal government rose by 66,000 over the month largely due to the hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010 preparatory work.
The change in total nonfarm employment for February was revised from -651,000 to -681,000, and the change for March was revised from -663,000 to -699,000. Monthly revisions result from additional sample reports and the monthly recalculation of seasonal factors.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
In April, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.2 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.2 hour to 39.6 hours, and factory overtime rose by 0.1 hour to 2.7 hours.
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.6 percent in April. The manufacturing index declined by 0.9 percent over the month.
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data) In April, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was essentially unchanged. This followed a gain of 4 cents in March. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings increased by 3.2 percent, and average weekly earnings rose by 1.3 percent.
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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