Many enjoyed the holiday of Easter, as well as the potential job opportunities the month brought. 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.

The employment rate was unchanged at 3.6% for the month of April, and the number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 5.9 million. Among those unemployed, the number of permanent job losers remained at 1.4 million for the month, and the number of persons on temporary layoff was little changed at 853,000. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) experienced little change at 1.5 million and accounted for 25.2% of all unemployed persons in April. Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.2%, and the employment-population ratio, at 60.0%, was little changed over the month. 

The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons was little changed at 4.0 million in April. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at 5.9 million for the month. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. 

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally attached to the labor force increased by 262,000 in April to 1.6 million. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, numbered 456,000 in April, little different from the prior month.

In April, 7.7% of employed persons teleworked because of the coronavirus pandemic, down from 10.0% in the prior month. 1.7 million individuals reported that they had been unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic; that is they did not work at all or worked fewer hours at some point in the 4 weeks preceding the survey due to the pandemic. This measure is down from 2.5 million in the previous month. Among those who reported in April that they were unable to work because of pandemic-related closures or lost business, 19.0% received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not worked, a little different from the prior month. 

For the month of April, job gains were widespread with the largest gains occurring in leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 78,000, with job growth continuing in food services and drinking places (+44,000) and accommodation (+22,000). Manufacturing added 55,000 jobs, with employment in durable goods rising by 31,000 and gains in transportation equipment (+14,000) and machinery (+7,000). Nondurable goods added 24,000 jobs, with growth noticed in food manufacturing (+8,000) and plastics and rubber products (+6,000). Transportation and warehousing rose by 52,000 and within the industry, job gains occurred in warehousing and storage (+17,000), couriers and messengers (+15,000), truck transportation (+13,000), and air transportation (+4,000).

Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up (+41,000). Financial activities added 35,000 jobs, led by a gain in insurance carriers and related activities (+20,000). Employment also rose in nondepository credit intermediation (+6,000) and in securities, commodity contracts, and investments (+5,000). Health care opportunities rose by 34,000, reflecting a gain in ambulatory health care services (+28,000), while retail trade increased by 29,000 due to gains in food and beverage stores (+24,000) and general merchandise stores (+12,000). However, this was partially offset by losses in building material and garden supply stores (-16,000) and health and personal care stores (-9,000). Wholesale trade employment rose by 22,000, while mining added 9,000 with a gain in oil and gas extraction (+5,000). Little change was noted in other major industries, including construction, information, other services, and government.

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $31.85 in April. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 5.5%. The average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 10 cents, or 0.4%, to $27.12. 

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised down by 36,000, from +750,000 to +714,000, and the change for March was revised down by 3,000, from +431,000 to +428,000. With these revisions, employment in February and March combined is 39,000 lower than previously reported. Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.

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