Net Job Creation by Industry through April 2016

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday in their analysis of non-farm employment that 160,000 jobs were added in April, down from 208,000 in March. February and March were revised down by a total of 19,000. An explanation of the BLS report is included at the end of this piece.

The three month moving (3MMA) of gains through April was 200,000, down from 203,000 in March. The unemployment rate, U3, calculated from a different survey, remained unchanged in April at 5.0 percent and up from 4.9 percent in February. Monthly job gains have averaged 220,000 per month in the sixteen months since and including January 2015 (Figure 1).