Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 177,000 in April and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%.
- Consensus was a gain of 130,000 jobs.
- The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised down by 15,000, from +117,000 to +102,000, and the change for March was revised down by 43,000, from +228,000 to +185,000. With these revisions, employment in February and March combined is 58,000 lower than previously reported.
- Healthcare added 51,000 jobs in April, transportation and warehousing increased by 29,000, financial activities employment rose by 14,000, and social assistance added 8,000 jobs.
- Federal government employment fell by 9,000 in April.
- In April, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by $0.06 to $36.06.
- The average workweek for all private employees was unchanged at 34.3 hours in April.
- The labor force participation rate changed little over the month at 62.6%.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor employment.