Number of jobs created by U.S. economy fell in April

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The April employment report brought disappointing news that the economy did not create enough jobs to keep up with growth in the labor force.

Nonfarm payroll employment only rose by 115,000 in April, which left the official unemployment rate little changed at 8.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Moreover, the report dashed hopes that the approximately 12.5 million Americans counted in the official 8.1 percent unemployment rate will be able to find a job any time soon.

Jobs created by the economy were in professional and business services, retail trade, and health care, but jobs in transportation and warehousing declined.

Moreover, the percentage of working-age Americans with a job declined in April to 63.6 percent from 63.8 percent in March.

The number of people officially counted as long-term unemployed consists of people who have been jobless for 27 weeks and longer who qualify to collect unemployment benefits. That number did not change much and stood at 5.1 million in April. These individuals made up 41.3 percent of the unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed has fallen over the year by 759,000.

Unemployment rates by group were:

• Adult men (7.5 percent)
• Adult women (7.4 percent)
• Teenagers (24.9 percent)
• Whites(7.4 percent)
• Hispanics (10.3 percent)
• African Americans (13.0 percent)

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