US adds 165,000 jobs in April, upwardly revises previous figures

Jeremy Pafford

03-May-2013

US adds 165,000 jobs in April, upwardly revises previous figuresHOUSTON (ICIS)–The US economy showed new life in April, adding 165,000 jobs during the month, the Department of Labor said on Friday.

The monthly jobs number beat economists’ estimates of a 140,000-job build in nonfarm payrolls.

In its monthly report on employment, the Labor Department also upwardly revised its numbers for February and March.

February was changed to 332,000 jobs added from the previously reported 268,000. March was revised to 138,000 jobs added from the previously reported 88,000.

The unemployment rate for April dropped 0.1 percentage point to 7.5%, the department said.

The rate has fallen 0.4 percentage point since January.

The number of unemployed in the US was at 11.7m in April, little changed from March. Long-term unemployed persons – those jobless for 27 weeks or more – fell by 258,000 to 4.4m. Over the past year, the number of long-term unemployed has fallen by 687,000.

Employment in April increased in professional and business services, food services and drinking places, retail trade and health care, the department said.

While the April total and the revised February and March are better news than economists were expecting, the numbers still reflect a tepid recovery of the US economy.

Economists say the nation should generate 150,000 jobs monthly to accommodate first-time job seekers, and the economy should produce some 300,000 jobs a month for multiple quarters in order to make significant reductions in the unemployment rate.

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