WASHINGTON – Payrolls rebounded in April a little better than expected but the standout number was the 4.4% unemployment rate, the lowest since May 2001.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday reported payrolls expanded by 211,000, above the 195,000 anticipated in the Market News International survey.
The unemployment rate in the survey of households reflected a nearly flat labor force, up just 12,000, combined with a 156,000 increase in employment and a 146,000 decline in unemployment, all seasonally adjusted.
Those counted as no longer in the labor force rose a moderate 162,000, completing a set of solid numbers without the flukey aspect that has plagued some jobs reports.
"So far this year's monthly average is very close to last year's," Dori Allard, the BLS chief of labor statistics, told Market News International shortly before publication. This year's monthly average is 185,000, only a tiny bit below last year's 187,000.
Earnings over a year were up 2.5%, down a tenth from March and four-tenths below the most recent peak, December's 2.9%.
The net revision for the two previous months subtracted 6,000 in the survey of establishments. The weak March number turned out to be even lower, going to 79,000 from the originally reported 98,000.
The month's result exceeded the ADP/Moody Analytics read for private payrolls of 177,000, with April's private jobs number up 194,000.
Leisure and hospitality was the standout category for the month, up 55,000, while health care rose 37,000, financial activities were up 19,000 and the oil patch hiring continued on the positive side, up 9,000. Since October's trough, that category is up 44,000. Professional and business services rose 39,000 and everything else, including manufacturing, was about unchanged.
