The month of April brings us great news! Hiring has picked up and unemployment has fallen to 4.4%, it’s lowest point in over a decade. Overall, the unemployment rate is near what economists consider full employment. Here are some of the highlights.
Broad Overview
- Unemployment decreased from 4.5% to 4.4%
- Wages grew 2.5%
- The economy created a total of 211,000 jobs
Demographics
- Unemployment for adult men decreased by 0.3%
- Unemployment for adult women increased by 0.1%
- Unemployment for Whites, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics decreased by 0.1%
Employment by Education
- Unemployment for persons with a high school diploma decreased by 0.3%
- Unemployment for persons without a high school diploma decreased by 0.3%
- Unemployment for persons with a bachelor’s degree or higher decreased by 0.1%
Unemployment % Breakdown by Industry (Compared to Last Year)
- Manufacturing decreased by 0.6%
- Constructing increased by 0.3%
- Wholesale and retail decreased by 1.1%
- Transportation and utilities decreased by 1.1%
- Professional and business services decreased by 0.3%
- Government unemployment decreased by 0.5%
Overall, the economy has come far since the Great Recession in 2009, when unemployment hit 10%. Economists believe the economy is nearing full employment, meaning the unemployment rate won’t decrease significantly. Employers are in a position where they will have to pay fair wages in order to hire workers because it will be much harder to find people to fill positions. This will lead to an increase in wages.
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