Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2012-05-04

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 rose by 115,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.1 percent. The April job gain followed an increase of 154,000 in March. For December through February, employment growth averaged 252,000 per month. In April, employment rose in professional and business services, retail trade, and health care but declined in transportation and warehousing. Professional and business services added 62,000 jobs over the month. Employment rose in architectural and engineering services and in computer systems design. Temporary help services employment edged up over the month. Retail trade added 29,000 jobs in April. Employment rose in general merchandise stores but has shown no definitive trend in recent months. Building material and garden supply stores continued to add jobs over the month.