Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2016-05-06

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 160,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and financial activities, while mining employment continued to decline. Incorporating revisions for February and March, which reduced nonfarm payroll employment by 19,000, monthly job gains have averaged 200,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior to April, employment growth averaged 232,000 per month. Employment in professional and business services rose by 65,000 in April, with a large job gain in management and technical consulting services (+21,000). Professional and business services employment has risen by 611,000 over the year. Health care employment continued to grow, with an increase of 44,000 in April.