Payrolls in U.S. Rise 165,000 as Unemployment Drops to 7.5%
By Alex Kowalski - May 3, 2013 8:30 AM ET
Employment picked up more than forecast in April and the jobless rate unexpectedly declined to a four-year low of 7.5 percent, showing the early stages of government budget cuts failed to destabilize the U.S. labor market.
Payrolls expanded by 165,000 workers last month following a revised 138,000 increase in March that was larger than first estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 90 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 140,000 gain. Revisions to the prior two months’ reports added a total of 114,000 jobs to the employment count in February and March.
Hiring advanced last month even as employers witnessed the onset of planned government spending reductions, which the Federal Reserve said are hindering the economy. The expansion is projected to cool this quarter before picking up again as the cuts continue, consumer spending eases and companies pull back.
“Businesses have spent the last year very prepared for bad news,” Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, said before the report. “In the last three to six months, they’ve been breathing sighs of relief. Fiscal issues matter, but they’re not the dominate thing happening in the U.S. economy. The dominate thing is the gradual grinding, healing in the economy, and the traction the Fed is gaining.”
The jobless rate dropped to the lowest level since December 2008 from 7.6 percent in March.
Payroll projections ranged from gains of 100,000 to 238,000 following an initially reported 88,000 increase in March, according to the Bloomberg survey.
Private Employment
Private payrolls, which don’t include jobs at government agencies, increased by 176,000 in April after a revised gain of 154,000 the previous month. Economists forecast they would rise 150,000 following an initially reported 95,000 gain in March.
The unemployment rate, which is derived from a separate poll of households, was forecast to hold at 7.6 percent, according to the Bloomberg survey median. Estimates (USURTOT) ranged from 7.5 percent to 7.7 percent.
Employment at factories stagnated in April after the addition of 2,000 in March, today’s report showed.
Temporary-help services added 30,800 workers to payrolls in April, the most since February 2012.
Other industries adding jobs included leisure and hospitality, retail trade and education and health services.
more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-03/payrolls-in-u-s-rise-165-000-as-unemployment-drops-to-7-5-.html
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