May 11, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Payroll employment in April

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 288,000 in April 2004 to 130.9 million, seasonally adjusted. This followed a gain of 337,000 jobs (as revised) in March.

[Chart data—TXT]

Over the month, job growth in April was widespread, including large gains in several service-providing industries, and smaller gains in both construction and manufacturing.

Professional and business services employment rose by 123,000 in April. Within this sector, increases occurred in employment services (60,000), services to buildings and dwellings (30,000), management and technical consulting services (8,000), and architectural and engineering services (7,000). Within employment services, temporary help services added 35,000 jobs in April.

Construction employment edged higher in April, after a substantial gain in the prior month.

In April, employment growth in manufacturing was concentrated in durable goods, which added 20,000 jobs. Most of the gain in durable goods employment occurred in fabricated metal products (10,000) and machinery (4,000).

These data are from the BLS Current Employment Statistics program. The above data are seasonally adjusted. Data for March and April 2004 are preliminary and subject to revision. For more information, see "The Employment Situation: April 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-818.

 

Related TED article:

• Unemployment in April 2004