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The US job machine continued to resonate in April, adding 263,000 new jobs as the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6%, the lowest level in a generation, according to a Labor Department report released Friday.
The growth of the non-agricultural wage bill easily exceeded Wall Street expectations of 190,000 and an unemployment rate of 3.8%.
Average hourly wage growth remained stable at 3.2% over the past year, a level slightly below 3.3% according to Dow Jones. The monthly gain was 0.2%, below the expected increase of 0.3%, bringing the average to $ 27.77. The average work week also decreased 0.1 hours to 34.4 hours.
The unemployment rate was last reached in December 1969, reaching 3.5%. At a time when many economists perceive that the job market is tense, job growth is strong, as economic expansion will only be the longest in the world. 39, history in a few months.
The unemployment rate for Asians has fallen sharply from 3.1% to 2.2%.
While the drop in the unemployment rate observed last month was accompanied by a sharp increase in hirings, it was also favored by a sharp drop in the labor force of 490,000 people. This reduced the labor force participation rate to 62.8%, exactly the same as it was a year ago.
A broader unemployment indicator that includes people who have stopped looking for a job, as well as underemployed people held at 7.3%, has been the same since February.
The number of people not in the labor force increased by 646,000 to a new high of 96.2 million.
The number of unemployed fell by 387,000 in April, bringing the total to 5.8 million. However, according to the Department of Labor's household survey, the number of employed persons also decreased by 103,000.
Professional services and business services led to job creation with 76,000 new positions. Construction added 33,000, bringing to 256,000 the total new jobs created in the field in the past year.
Health care increased by 27,000, bringing the total over 12 months to 404,000, while financial positions improved by 12,000, an increase of 111,000 over 12 months, mainly due to the growth of real estate and leasing.
Social assistance increased by 26,000, while the manufacturing sector added 4,000.
Retail trade, whose fortunes have fluctuated in recent months, has lost 12,000 jobs.
Previous months were revised up from 33,000 in February to 56,000 in February, but from 196,000 to 189,000, a net gain of 16,000. Since the beginning of the year, jobs created were on average 205 000 per month.
The strong April increase is in a mainly favorable economic data context.
GDP grew 3.2% in the first quarter, well above expectations, while productivity during the quarter jumped 3.6%, its largest gain in five years. Pending home sales rose 3.8% in March, leaving some hope in the real estate market as long as rates are under control.
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve maintained its policy rate, calling it strong economic growth while inflation remains under control. The central bank observes statistics such as non-farm wages provide accurate information on job creation and wage pressures.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the current indications point to a long period of retention of rate hikes or decreases. President Donald Trump said he hoped the Fed would reduce its rates by one percentage point.
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