Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2006-05-05

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 138,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent. Over the year, nonfarm employment has risen by about 2 million. Average hourly earnings were up by 9 cents over the month. In the service-providing sector, the health care industry remained a steady source of job growth in April, as employment rose by 23,000. Job gains were spread among nursing and residential care facilities, hospitals, and doctors' offices. Employment in finance and insurance continued to expand over the month. The credit intermediation industry added 9,000 jobs, and the insurance industry grew by 10,000 jobs. Since last September, employment growth in the insurance industry has strengthened; 55,000 jobs were added over this period.