The jobs numbers for April, published today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (link), should cheer people on this rainy, overcast day here in the Detroit region. Job gains in April came in at 288,000. In addition, numbers for March were also revised, upward, by 36,000 jobs. Here is the picture to date:
We are finally out-pacing job growth in 2013. In that year the economy gained 821,000 jobs January through April. In 2014 the equivalent job gains are 866,000. This in turn lifts the annualized projection for 2014 above any year of the recovery (2010-2014). That chart follows:
The projection for 2014 is made by adding all job gains, dividing the sum by 4 (for four months) and then multiplying that result by 12.
One result of this modest surging in jobs creation is that we have almost recovered all the jobs lost in the 2008-2009 Great Recession. We’ve recovered 98.9 percent; still 1.1 percent to go. The pie that follows shows the situation graphically.
Last, a look at how the sectors participated in this employment gain.
Of fourteen major sectors, two showed loss of employment (Utilities and Information). The last column of the table compares shares, namely share of total employment and share of total gains. Using that technique, we see that eight of fourteen major sectors performed worse, i.e., they gained less than their share of total employment. The worst performer was—again this month—the Government. The best performers were Professional and Business Services and Construction. On to next month…
