It's The Econonmy Stupid: Payrolls, Unemployment & Hours

Okay, there’s a lot of junk in the trunk today. 

 

But here’s the economic news for dummies:

 

Payrolls in U.S. Rose 115,000 in April; Jobless Rate at 8.1%

 

Now, feel free to get back to Facebook.

 

Economic Event	Period	Economic Survey	Actual Reported	Original Prior	Revised Prior
Change in Nonfarm Payrolls	APR	160K	115K	120K	154K
Change in Private Payrolls	APR	165K	130K	121K	166K
Change IN Manufact. Payrolls	APR	20K	16K	37K	41K
Unemployment Rate	APR	8.2%	8.1%	8.2%
Avg Hourl Earn MoM All Empl	APR	0.2%	0.0%	0.2%
Avg Hourl Earn YoY All Empl	APR	2.0%	1.8%	2.1%	2.0%
Avg Weekly Hours All Empl	APR	34.5	34.5	34.5
Change in Household Emplmt	APR		-169.0	-31.0
Underemployment Rate	APR		14.5%	14.5%

 

Employers in the U.S. added fewer workers than forecast in April and the jobless rate unexpectedly declined as people left the labor force, underscoring concern the world’s largest economy may be losing speed.

 

Payrolls climbed 115,000, the smallest gain in six months, after a revised 154,000 rise in March that was more than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 85 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 160,000 advance. The jobless rate fell to a three-year low of 8.1 percent and earnings stagnated.

 

 

Transportation and warehousing, government agencies and construction all cut jobs in April. Bloomberg survey estimates ranged from increases of 89,000 to 210,000 after a previously reported 120,000 rise in March. Revisions added a total of 53,000 jobs to payrolls in February and March.

 

Unemployment Rate

 

The unemployment rate was forecast to hold at 8.2 percent, according to the survey median. Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 8.1 percent to 8.3 percent. Unemployment has exceeded 8 percent since February 2009, the longest such stretch since monthly records began in 1948.

 

The participation rate, which indicates the share of working-age people in the labor force, fell to 63.6 percent, the lowest since December 1981, from 63.8 percent.

 

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury