The total nonfarm employment increased by 211,000 in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from March’s increase of 79,000 and nearly matches February’s increase of 235,000.
Both the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons barely moved. The unemployment came in at 4.4%, while the number of unemployed persons came in at 7.1 million in April.
Similarly, the labor force participation rate, at 62.9%, changed little in April and has shown little movement over the past year.
Here’s a break down of different sectors:
- Leisure and hospitality added 55,000 jobs
- Employment in health care and social assistance increased by 37,000
- Financial activities added 19,000 jobs
- Employment in mining rose by 9,000
- Employment in professional and business services increased by 39,000
Despite the low increase in March, experts were still optimistic on the future of the housing market, noting that the soft hiring seen in March is not too concerning and likely a single month aberration. Now one month later and jobs more than doubled March's increase.
