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May 04, 2018US EMPLOYMENT, APRIL 2018 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports today that US non-farm payroll employment increased by 164,000 in April, following a revised gain of 135,000 jobs in March. In the last two months, employment growth has fallen short of the pace set over the last year.
In April, employment gains were seen mainly in professional/business services (+54,000), manufacturing (+24,000), health care (+24,000), mining (+8,000). There were no substantial changes to employment in other major sectors: construction, wholesale, retail, transportation, information, finance, leisure/hospitality and government.
The US unemployment rate fell to 3.9 per cent in April, mostly on declining labour supply.
Canada's unemployment rate has also been falling below pre-recession levels. Canada's unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8 per cent in March, while Nova Scotia's declined to 7.4 per cent.
The US participation rate fell to 62.8 per cent in April as the labour force declined for the second month in a row. Unlike unemployment rates, the US participation rate has failed to return to pre-recession levels and has only increased modestly since bottoming out in 2015.
Participation rates in Canada and Nova Scotia also declined in the years after the global financial crises, although Nova Scotia's has been trending upward in recent months.
The US employment to population ratio remained edged down to 60.3 per cent in April.
Employment rates in Canada have been trending up since mid-2016, but are still below levels observed in 2008. With an aging population and declining labour supply, Nova Scotia's employment rates have trended down since 2012, there has been some recovery in recent months.
Note: Canadian and US labour force statistics refer to different working-age cohorts.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statistics Canada CANSIM table 282-0087
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