Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until
8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, May 6, 2022.
Statement of
William W. Beach
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, May 6, 2022
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 428,000 in April,
and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6 percent. Job
growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality,
in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing.
Nonfarm employment is down by 1.2 million, or 0.8 percent,
from its February 2020 level before the onset of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.
In April, employment growth continued in leisure and
hospitality (+78,000), with gains in food services and drinking
places (+44,000) and accommodation (+22,000). Employment in
leisure and hospitality is down by 1.4 million, or 8.5 percent,
from its February 2020 level.
Manufacturing employment increased by 55,000 in April.
Employment rose by 31,000 in durable goods, with gains in
transportation equipment (+14,000) and machinery (+7,000).
Nondurable goods added 24,000 jobs, including gains in food
manufacturing (+8,000) and plastics and rubber products
(+6,000). Employment in durable goods is 105,000 below its
February 2020 level, while employment in nondurable goods is
49,000 above its February 2020 level. Overall, manufacturing
employment is down by 56,000 since February 2020.
In April, transportation and warehousing added 52,000 jobs.
Employment increased in warehousing and storage (+17,000),
couriers and messengers (+15,000), truck transportation
(+13,000), and air transportation (+4,000). Employment in
transportation and warehousing is 674,000 above its February
2020 level, with particularly strong growth in warehousing and
storage (+467,000) and in couriers and messengers (+259,000).
Employment in professional and business services continued
to trend up in April (+41,000) and is up by 738,000 since
February 2020.
In April, employment rose by 35,000 in financial
activities. Job gains occurred in insurance carriers and related
activities (+20,000); in nondepository credit intermediation
(+6,000); and in securities, commodity contracts, and
investments (+5,000). Employment in financial activities is
71,000 higher than in February 2020.
Health care added 34,000 jobs in April, with most of the
gain occurring in ambulatory health care services (+28,000).
Health care employment is 250,000 below its February 2020 level.
Employment in retail trade increased by 29,000 in April.
Job gains in food and beverage stores (+24,000) and in general
merchandise stores (+12,000) were partially offset by losses in
building material and garden supply stores (-16,000) and health
and personal care stores (-9,000). Retail trade employment is
284,000 higher than in February 2020.
Employment growth continued in wholesale trade, with the
addition of 22,000 jobs in April. Employment in the industry is
down by 57,000 since February 2020.
Employment in mining increased by 9,000 in April, with a
gain in oil and gas extraction (+5,000). Since a recent low in
February 2021, mining employment has grown by 73,000.
Employment showed little change over the month in other
major industries, including construction, information, other
services, and government.
The average workweek for all private sector workers was
unchanged at 34.6 hours in April. The average workweek for
manufacturing fell by 0.2 hour to 40.5 hours.
Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls increased by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $31.85 in
April. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 5.5 percent.
Turning to the labor market indicators from the household
survey, the unemployment rate held at 3.6 percent in April, and
the number of unemployed people was essentially unchanged at 5.9
million. Both measures are little different than their February
2020 levels (3.5 percent and 5.7 million, respectively).
In April, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.5
percent), adult women (3.2 percent), teenagers (10.2 percent),
Whites (3.2 percent), Blacks (5.9 percent), Asians (3.1
percent), and Hispanics (4.1 percent) showed little or no
change.
Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers
remained at 1.4 million in April. This measure is little
different from its February 2020 level. The number of people on
temporary layoff changed little at 853,000 in April and is also
little different from its February 2020 level.
In April, the number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or
more (often referred to as the long-term unemployed) was little
changed at 1.5 million. This measure is 362,000 above its
February 2020 level. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25.2
percent of the total unemployed in April.
The labor force participation rate, at 62.2 percent, and
the employment-population ratio, at 60.0 percent, changed little
in April. Both measures are up over the year but are 1.2
percentage points below their February 2020 levels.
In April, 4.0 million people were working part time for
economic reasons, little changed from the previous month. The
number of people affected by this type of underemployment is
below its February 2020 level of 4.4 million.
The number of people not in the labor force who currently
want a job was little changed at 5.9 million in April. This
measure remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 million.
Among those who were not in the labor force but wanted a
job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force
increased by 262,000 to 1.6 million in April. (People who are
marginally attached to the labor force had not actively looked
for work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey but wanted a job,
were available for work, and had looked for a job within the
last 12 months.) The number of discouraged workers, a subset of
the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available
for them, changed little at 456,000 in April.
Looking at supplemental pandemic-related measures from the
household survey (these supplemental data are not seasonally
adjusted), the share of employed people who teleworked because
of the pandemic declined to 7.7 percent in April. These data
refer only to employed people who teleworked or worked from home
for pay at some point in the last 4 weeks specifically because
of the pandemic; they do not include all instances of telework.
In April, the number of people who reported that they had
been unable to work because their employer closed or lost
business due to the pandemic fell to 1.7 million. (These
individuals did not work at all or worked fewer hours at some
point in the last 4 weeks due to the pandemic.) Among those who
reported in April that they were unable to work because of
pandemic-related closures or lost business, 19.0 percent
received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not
worked, little changed from the prior month.
Among those not in the labor force in April, 586,000 people
were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, down
from March. (To be counted as unemployed, by definition,
individuals must either be actively searching for work or on
temporary layoff.)
In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 428,000
in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6
percent.
United States Department of Labor
