April Job Growth Lower Than Projected

By Tom Burnett. CFA
On May 7, 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its April Employment Report. Job growth came in at 266,000, well below expectations. In addition, the March increase of 916,000 was revised down to 770,000. Combined with an increased revision for February, the February-March period net downward revision was 78,000 from previous reports.
The unemployment rate for April was 6.1%, unchanged from the previous month. The number of unemployed workers was 9.8 million, compared to 5.7 million in February 2020 before the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Total employment now stands at 151.2 million, up from 133.3 million in April 2020. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, total employment reached 157.0 million at its peak.
The next Employment Report will be issued on June 4, 2021.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research