Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 177K in April; Unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 177,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance. Federal government employment declined.
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.7 million, changed little in April. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at 5.7 million. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force, at at 1.6 million, changed little in April. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, also changed little over the month at 414,000.
INDUSTRY FOCUS
- Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 177,000 in April, roughly in line with the average monthly gain of 152,000 over the prior 12 months. In April, employment continued to trend up in health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance. Federal government employment declined.
- Health care added 51,000 jobs in April, about the same as the average monthly gain of 52,000 over the prior 12 months. In April, job growth continued in hospitals (+22,000) and ambulatory health care services (+21,000).
- Employment in social assistance continued its upward trend in April (+8,000) but at a slower pace than the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+20,000).
- Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 29,000 in April, following little change in the prior month (+3,000). Job gains occurred in warehousing and storage (+10,000), couriers and messengers (+8,000), and air transportation (+3,000) in April. Transportation and warehousing had added an average of 12,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months.
- In April, financial activities employment continued to trend up (+14,000). The industry has added 103,000 jobs since its employment trough in April 2024.
- Within government, federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April and is down by 26,000 since January. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)
- Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics: The Employment Situation – April 2025