APRIL HIRING PITIFUL 115,000 YET RATE DROPS!!!

Numbers released from the Labor Department shows April unemployment dropped to 8.1% as non-farm payrolls increased only by 115,000. As earnings fell flat less business's are hiring as the economy continues to sputter along toward the November elections.  This is not good news for the Obama Administration as they were hoping for a pickup of +160,000 jobs.  Last months jobs report was adjusted upward to +154,000. 

The telling signs of this jobs report is the drop in the number of people that fell off the unemployment rolls as there benefits expire and they stop looking for jobs. The participation rate dropped to 63.6% from last months 63.8%,  the lowest since 1981 as the change in civilian labor force dropped 364,000.   The unemployed and underemployed is now at 14.5% 

What’s in the Cards for April’s Unemployment Numbers?

It will not be good news as the economy continues to  sputters along at an anemic rate.  A more detailed look at March tells us that layoff’s continue across the board as employers took 1, 273 layoff actions involving 121,310 workers across all categories. The number of new unemployment claims in April rose to a 4 week moving average of 381,750, up 6,250 from the previous week.

It was also widely reported this week that half the people with bachelor’s degrees cannot find work.  An analysis shows that over 53% are jobless or underemployed which does not give us any indication that the job market is improving.  The labor force participation rate which is still below 64% is at its lowest rate in more than 10 years.