April unemployment numbers are out and things are better than expected. The unemployment rate now sits at 5% which historically is a pretty good number.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers cut far fewer jobs in April than in recent months and the unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent, a better-than-expected showing that nonetheless still revealed strains in the nation's crucial labor market.
For the fourth month in a row, the economy lost jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. But in April the losses totaled 20,000, an improvement from the 81,000 reductions in payrolls logged in March. Job losses for both February and March turned out to be a bit deeper than previously reported.
Full article here.
The unemployment rate was expected to rise to 5.2% and 75,000 jobs were expected to be lost, so while this certainly isn't a good showing, it's definitely an improvement over the past couple months. It's disappointing to every month see government as one of the reasons for keeping unemployment low (the government has consistently been a large hirer). But, that's a different topic.
My guess is that the unemployment rate will stay between 5% and 5.5% this year. But, it's impossible to say and guessing won't get us anywhere. So, we'll just have to keep our eyes open and stay tuned for further data.
Tags:
economy, government, jobs, unemployment
Posted at: 07:11 AM | Add Comment
| 
| 
del.icio.us
