Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2008-05-02

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. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the April employment and unemployment statistics we released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in April (-20,000), following job losses in the first quarter that averaged 80,000 per month. In April, employment continued to decline in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade, while jobs were added in health care and in professional and technical services. The unemployment rate, at 5.0 percent, was little changed. Within the goods-producing sector, employment in construction declined by 61,000. Since its peak in September 2006, construction employment has fallen by 457,000. Over the last 6 months, job losses averaged 50,000 per month, compared with an average loss of 12,000 per month from September 2006 to October 2007. Manufacturing employment continued to decline in April.