May 03, 2024
The pace of job growth slowed in April — posting its lowest gain since October 2023 — and the number of temporary help services jobs fell, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While the US added 175,000 total nonfarm jobs in April, that is below the average monthly gain of 242,000 over the prior 12 months.
The US also saw the number of temporary help services jobs fall by 16,400 in April to a total of about 2.74 million. In addition, the previously reported number for temp jobs in March was also revised downward, putting the number of temps 5,700 lower that month than previously estimated.
“Moderating job and wage growth represent a positive signal that inflation is slowly weakening across the economy,” said Timothy Landhuis, VP of research at SIA. “Although demand for temporary staffing remains soft overall, the April job gains in transportation and manufacturing provide hope that activity in these key staffing client sectors may start to see better growth ahead.”
The temp penetration rate — temporary jobs as a percentage of total nonfarm employment — also declined in April to 1.73% from March’s reading of 1.74%.
Separately, the US unemployment rate edged up to 3.9% in April from 3.8% in March. The college-level unemployment rate rose as well to 2.2% in April from 2.1% in March.
Industries that did add jobs in April included healthcare, social assistance and transportation and warehousing, according to the BLS.
Healthcare added 56,000 jobs in April, in line with the average monthly gain of 63,000 over the past 12 months. Sectors where employment increased included ambulatory healthcare services, up 33,000 jobs; hospitals, up 14,000 jobs; and nursing and residential care facilities, up 9,000 jobs.
Social assistance employment rose by 31,000 jobs in April, and transportation and warehousing added 22,000 jobs.
Nonfarm jobs totaled 158.3 million in April.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 7 cents to $34.75. Average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9% over the past 12 months.
For production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents to $29.83.
For a deeper analysis of jobs data, see this report by the SIA research team.