US witnesses slower job growth in April
WASHINGTON - US employment rose at a lower pace of 8.1 per cent in April with 115,000 being added on payrolls as against a gain of 154,000 in March, belying optimism that economy is picking up.
Expectations were that 170,000 would be put on the payrolls in April.
The latest Labour Department data released Friday revealed that as against job gains averaging 252,000 per month for December to February, last two months are witnessing a drop in job creation.
"In April, our largest gains 62,000 new jobs were in good-paying business and professional services careers, meaning more architects, engineers, computer programmers and consultants are finding jobs," Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said in a statement after the release of the Employment Situation report.
Solis added that there was a gain of "19,000 manufacturing jobs in April. After losing millions of good manufacturing jobs in the years before and during the deep recession, the economy has added 485,000 manufacturing jobs in the past 26 months."
Employment in professional and business services increased by 62,000 in April. Since a recent low point in September 2009, employment in this industry has grown by 1.5 million.
In April, employment in temporary help services edged up by 21,000. Employment grew in architectural and engineering services and also in computer systems design and related services.
Unlike professional and business services, retail trade, and health care which witnessed employment growth, there were job losses in transportation and warehousing sector in April.
Both the number of unemployed persons 12.5 million and the unemployment rate of 8.1 percent changed little in April.
What was discouraging was the data of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) which showed little change at 5.1 million in April. These individuals made up 41.3 per cent of the unemployed. Over the year, the number of long-term unemployed has fallen by 759,000.
House Republican Speaker John Boehner called the report "more evidence that President Obama's policies aren't working for families and small businesses, and aren't creating enough jobs to get our economy back on track."
The White House tried to put the report in a positive light.
"One month does not a trend make. I think it makes sense to average the last few months together and the economy continues to go in a positive direction," White House economic adviser Alan Krueger told CNBC.
Many economists think the weakness evident in the labor market over the past two months is largely due to stronger hiring during a mild winter.
The report showed the private sector accounted for all the job gains in April, adding 130,000 new positions.
"Over the next couple of months we would expect the monthly gains to settle back into a 150,000 to 200,000 range," Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients.
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