The U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs in April and unemployment was little changed at 4.4%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This continues the recovery of the labor market at a tempered rate, which means the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee should continue to let the economy grow at this rate and not raise interest rates.
In response to the February jobs numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:
Last month's biggest job gains were in leisure and hospitality (55,000), professional and business services (39,000), health care and social assistance (37,000), financial activities (19,000), and mining (9,000). Employment in other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, and government, showed little change over the month.
Among the major worker groups, unemployment rates in April decreased for adult men (4.0%). The jobless rates were little changed for Asians (3.2%), whites (3.8%), adult women (4.1%), Hispanics (5.2%), blacks (7.9%) and teenagers (14.7%).
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed in April and accounted for 22.6% of the unemployed.