The nation's unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point from March to April to 4.5 percent, according to a report Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The jobless rate has ranged from 4.4 to 4.6 percent since September 2006.
The report said nonfarm employment increased by 88,000 last month, the fewest since 65,000 jobs were added in November 2004.
Job gains in health care, food services and a few other industries were partially offset by employment declines in manufacturing and retail trade.
Health care employment was the biggest gainer last month, up 37,000 workers. Over the year, health care has added 362,000 jobs. Employment in social assistance was up by 10,000 in April and has grown by 63,000 over the year. Computer systems design saw 11,000 jobs added, and 12,000 jobs were created in management and technical consulting services.
Food services and drinking places continued to expand in April, gaining 25,000 jobs. Employment in this industry has increased by 336,000 over the year.
Government employment continued to trend up in April and has grown by 297,000 over the year. Local government accounted for three-quarters of the over-the-year growth.
Manufacturing employment continued to decline in April with a loss of 19,000 jobs. Employment was down by 26,000 in retail trade.
Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents last month to $17.25, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings edged down by 0.1 percent over the month to $583.05. Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings grew by 3.7 and 3.4 percent, respectively.
Email This Page!