The job market is always evolving, and staying up to date with the latest trends and developments is crucial for job seekers and recruiters alike. As we approach the middle of the year, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its latest report on the state of the job market in April 2023.
The term “Employment Situation” was first used by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 1948 to describe its monthly report on the state of the labor market in the country. The report was designed to provide policymakers, business leaders, and the general public with a comprehensive overview of key labor market indicators, such as the unemployment rate, payroll employment, and average hourly earnings. Today, the Employment Situation report remains one of the most closely watched economic indicators in the United States and is considered a crucial tool for assessing the health of the country’s labor market. Below is a summary of the April “Employment Situation” Report.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in April, the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.4 percent and nonfarm payroll employment rose by 253,000. The professional and business services, health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance industries continued to experience employment growth.
The data was collected from two surveys, the household survey and the establishment survey. The unemployment rate and the number of unemployed people remained largely unchanged at 3.4 percent and 5.7 million respectively, with adult men, adult women, teenagers, Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics showing little or no change in their unemployment rates.
The number of people jobless for less than five weeks decreased by 406,000 to 1.9 million, while the number of long-term unemployed stayed relatively steady at 1.2 million. The labor force participation rate and the employment-population ratio both remained at 62.6 percent and 60.4 percent respectively, below their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels.
The number of people employed part-time for economic reasons and the number of persons marginally attached to the labor force remained largely unchanged in April. On the other hand, the number of persons who currently want a job but were not in the labor force increased by 346,000, and the number of discouraged workers stayed little changed at 364,000.
In the establishment survey, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 253,000, with professional and business services (+43,000), health care (+40,000), leisure and hospitality (+31,000), and social assistance (+25,000) showing continued employment growth. Financial activities also experienced a rise in employment by 23,000, with gains in insurance carriers and related activities and in real estate. Finally, government employment rose by 23,000 in April.
The Employment Situation for May is scheduled to be released on Friday, June 2, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET) by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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