On an unadjusted basis, payrolls rose by more than 1 million last month. Seasonal adjustments usually call for a large hiring gain in April, which may in part explain why the headline number fell short of forecasts.
Another reason for the more moderate employment gain is problems in the nation’s supply chains. For instance, motor vehicle production has been severely hampered by shortages of semiconductors. The jobs report showed manufacturing payrolls declined 18,000 in April, driven by a sharp fall in jobs at automakers.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.7% in April from a month earlier, to $30.17, the jobs report showed. The wage data for April suggest that the rising demand for labor associated with the recovery from the pandemic may have put upward pressure on wages, the Labor Department said in a statement.
A separate measure of compensation that isn’t subjected to shifts in industry employment -- the employment cost index -- rose 0.9% in the first quarter. That was the largest quarterly gain since 2007, according to the Labor Department’s data last week.
“While the jobs numbers themselves were certainly disappointing, I think there are a few nuggets in here that are positive development,” House said.
Labor force participation, a measure of the percentage of Americans either working or looking for work, rose to 61.7% in April from 61.5%, likely supported by increased vaccinations that helped fuel the reopenings of many retail establishments, restaurants and leisure-facing businesses.
Average weekly hours increased to match the highest in records dating back to 2006. The gain in the workweek, increased pay and the improvement in hiring helped boost aggregate weekly payrolls 1.2% in April after a 1.3% gain a month earlier.
Workforce participation for men age 25 to 54 increased last month, while edging lower for women.
—With assistance from Chris Middleton, Reade Pickert, Amanda Albright, Sophie Caronello, Liz Capo McCormick and Daniel Curtis.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.