Private Employment

May 2, 2025 Private sector employment climbed by 167 thousand in April after gaining 170 thousand in March and 107 thousand in February.  The job gain exceeded market expectations which were for an increase of 140 thousand.  In the past three months private sector...

Unemployment Rate

May 2, 2025 The unemployment rate was unchanged in April at 4.2% after having risen 0.1% in March.  The labor force rose by 518 thousand in April while employment rose by 436 thousand.  As a result, the number of unemployed workers rose 82 thousand and the...

Nonfarm Workweek

May 2, 2025 In any given month employers can boost output by either additional hiring workers or by lengthening the number of  hours that their employees work.  Payroll employment climbed by 177 thousand in April  In the past three months the average increase has been...

Average Hourly Earnings

May 2, 2025 Average  hourly earnings rose 0.2% in April to $36.06 after having risen 0.3% in March.  Earnings growth  in the past year has been 3.8%. While nominal earnings have risen 3.8% in the past year, inflation has risen fairly quickly and real or...

Average Duration of Unemployment

May 2, 2025 The average duration of unemployment rose 0.4 week in April to 23.2 weeks after 1.5 weeks in March,  It appears that unemployed workers are having a somewhat more difficult time becoming reemployed than they were six months or so ago. Stephen Slifer...

Construction Spending

May 1, 2025 Construction spending (the green bars above) fell 0.5% in March after rising 0.6% in February.  This indicator has been essentially flat since the end of last year..  In the past 12 months it has risen 2.8%. Private construction spending (excluding the...