The Employment Situation: April 1997 — 1997-05-02

Unemployment declined in April, and nonfarm payroll employment rose modestly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The nation�s jobless rate fell from 5.2 to 4.9 percent. The number of payroll jobs rose by 142,000 in April, and average hourly earnings edged down by 1 cent. The number of unemployed persons declined by 430,000 to 6.7 million, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage point to 4.9 percent in April, after seasonal adjustment. All of the major demographic groups contributed to the improvement. The jobless rate for adult women decreased by 0.3 point to 4.4 percent, the rate for blacks fell by 0.9 point to 9.8 percent, and the rate for whites dropped by 0.3 point to 4.2 percent.