By: Kellie Lail
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its April 2023 Report, so let’s take a look at how employment fared over the last month.
The great news is:
In April, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 253,000 people. The unemployment rate in March decreased to 3.4%, at 5.7 million people, falling just below the narrow window of 3.5%-3.7% unemployment that has been maintained since March of 2022. Leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, social assistance, and health care garnered the largest share of new jobs over the last month.
The good news is:
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job increased by 346,000 to 5.3 million people in April. Keep in mind, these 5.3 million people were not counted as unemployed because they were unavailable to take a job or were not actively looking for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. In April, average hourly earnings for private non-farm payroll jobs increased by 0.5%, or 16 cents, to $33.36. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.4% and the average work week for these employees remained unchanged with an average work week of 34.4 hours in April.
The bad news is:
The labor force participation rate remained the same in April at 62.6%, still remaining below the pre-pandemic level of 63.3%. The number of long-term unemployed, people who were without a job for 27 weeks or more, increased slightly in April to 1.2 million, accounting for 20.6% of total unemployed persons. The number of discouraged workers who believed there were no jobs available to them increased slightly from March at 364,000 people.
Keep in mind: With the number of unemployed persons remaining relatively steady over recent months, competition in the job market continues to build. Transparency is key. You want to ensure candidates know exactly what they are signing up for when applying to your job. To attract the best candidates, you must show them that you are the most competitive employer in terms of salary, benefits, career stability, remote or flexibility options, and career growth opportunities.