As many settle back into routines after their Spring Break, the job market experienced some interesting trends in April. Staff Solve strives to assist employers and job seekers with information and process hiring, but the overall economic picture of employment trends in the United States and possible factors involved. 

Total employment rose by 266,000 for the month of April. However, the increase made the unemployment rate change very little at 6.1 percent. Compared to one year ago, the unemployment rate is drastically lower than the data from 2020 when the effects of the coronavirus were making a large impact on the economy and employment. The number of temporary layoffs also changed little in April when compared to last month, but better when compared to April 2020 data. 

The number of people jobless less than 5 weeks increased by 237,000, while the number of people jobless from 15 to 26 weeks decreased by 188,000. The number of long-term unemployed persons (greater than 26 weeks) remained unchanged for the month and accounts for 43% of the unemployment rate. The labor force participation rate changed little as well, staying at 61.7% but lower than data from February 2020.  

The number of individuals employed part-time for economic reasons decreased by 583,000, reflecting the drop in the number of people whose hows were cut due to lack of work or business conditions. This data is also 845,000 higher than the data from February 2020. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment, but are currently working part-time because of hours reduced or inability to find full-time opportunities. 18.3% of workers (full and part-time) teleworked due to the pandemic, a decrease from 21.0% in March. The reason for the decrease is due to the excitement of vaccine implementation and the overall increase number of completely vaccinated individuals.  

Notable industry gains were in leisure and hospitality, other services, and local government education, with partial offsets in temporary help services and in couriers and messengers. Leisure and hospitality increased by 331,000, as pandemic-related restrictions are eased in many parts of the country. More than half of the increase was in food and drinking places (+187,000). Job gains also occurred in amusements, gambling, and recreation (+73,000) and in accommodation (+54,000). Although leisure and hospitality added 5.4 million jobs over the year, employment in the industry is down by 16.8% since February 2020.

In April, employment increased by 44,000 in the other services industry, with gains in repair and maintenance (+14,000) and personal and laundry services (+14,000). Local government education increased by 31,000 in April but is 611,000 lower than in February 2020. Federal government employment increased by 9,000 over the month. Social assistance rose by 23,000, with about half of the increase in child daycare services (+12,000). Financial activities rose by 19,000 over the month, with most of the gain occurring in real estate and rental and leasing (+17,000). architectural and engineering services and scientific research and development services added jobs (+12,000 and +7,000). Miscellaneous durable goods manufacturing increased by 13,000 and chemicals by 4,000. Employment also increased in sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores (+20,000), clothing and accessories by 10,000, and health and personal care stores by 9,000. 

Within professional and business services, employment in temporary help services declined by 111,000, and business support services lost about 15,000 jobs. Within transportation and warehousing, employment in couriers and messengers fell by 

77,000, manufacturing employment by 18,000, motor vehicles and parts by 27,000, and wood products by 7,000. Retail trade experienced a loss of 15,000 after gaining over double in March, food and beverage stores by 49,000, general merchandise stores by 10,000, and gas stations by 9,000. Employment in health care changed little (-4,000) as well as jobs in nursing care facilities (-19,000). 

Construction has remained unchanged over the month but is up by 917,000 when compared to the past year. Other industries that experience little to no change are mining, wholesale trade, and information.

The average hourly earnings for employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 21 cents to an overall $30.17. The average hourly earnings for private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees also increased by 20 cents to an overall $25.45. The data for April suggests that the rising demand for labor associated with recovery from the pandemic may have placed more pressure on wages. 

Staff Solve continues to provide high-quality candidates and jobs in diverse markets for over 27 years. Let us take the stress off you so you can focus on your business by finding the perfect applicant for the position. If you are looking for employment, please visit our job seeker page. If you would like more information about the services we offer employers, visit our employer page or contact us today.