Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until 

8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, May 6, 2022.

Statement of

William W. Beach

Commissioner

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, May 6, 2022

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 428,000 in April, 

and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6 percent. Job 

growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, 

in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing.

Nonfarm employment is down by 1.2 million, or 0.8 percent, 

from its February 2020 level before the onset of the coronavirus 

(COVID-19) pandemic.

In April, employment growth continued in leisure and 

hospitality (+78,000), with gains in food services and drinking 

places (+44,000) and accommodation (+22,000). Employment in 

leisure and hospitality is down by 1.4 million, or 8.5 percent, 

from its February 2020 level.

Manufacturing employment increased by 55,000 in April. 

Employment rose by 31,000 in durable goods, with gains in 

transportation equipment (+14,000) and machinery (+7,000). 

Nondurable goods added 24,000 jobs, including gains in food 
2

manufacturing (+8,000) and plastics and rubber products 

(+6,000). Employment in durable goods is 105,000 below its 

February 2020 level, while employment in nondurable goods is 

49,000 above its February 2020 level. Overall, manufacturing 

employment is down by 56,000 since February 2020.

In April, transportation and warehousing added 52,000 jobs. 

Employment increased in warehousing and storage (+17,000), 

couriers and messengers (+15,000), truck transportation 

(+13,000), and air transportation (+4,000). Employment in 

transportation and warehousing is 674,000 above its February 

2020 level, with particularly strong growth in warehousing and 

storage (+467,000) and in couriers and messengers (+259,000).

Employment in professional and business services continued 

to trend up in April (+41,000) and is up by 738,000 since 

February 2020.

In April, employment rose by 35,000 in financial 

activities. Job gains occurred in insurance carriers and related 

activities (+20,000); in nondepository credit intermediation 

(+6,000); and in securities, commodity contracts, and 

investments (+5,000). Employment in financial activities is 

71,000 higher than in February 2020.

Health care added 34,000 jobs in April, with most of the 

gain occurring in ambulatory health care services (+28,000).

Health care employment is 250,000 below its February 2020 level.
3

Employment in retail trade increased by 29,000 in April. 

Job gains in food and beverage stores (+24,000) and in general 

merchandise stores (+12,000) were partially offset by losses in 

building material and garden supply stores (-16,000) and health 

and personal care stores (-9,000). Retail trade employment is 

284,000 higher than in February 2020.

Employment growth continued in wholesale trade, with the

addition of 22,000 jobs in April. Employment in the industry is 

down by 57,000 since February 2020.

Employment in mining increased by 9,000 in April, with a 

gain in oil and gas extraction (+5,000). Since a recent low in 

February 2021, mining employment has grown by 73,000.

Employment showed little change over the month in other 

major industries, including construction, information, other 

services, and government.

The average workweek for all private sector workers was 

unchanged at 34.6 hours in April. The average workweek for 

manufacturing fell by 0.2 hour to 40.5 hours.

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls increased by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $31.85 in 

April. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have 

increased by 5.5 percent.

Turning to the labor market indicators from the household 

survey, the unemployment rate held at 3.6 percent in April, and 
4

the number of unemployed people was essentially unchanged at 5.9 

million. Both measures are little different than their February 

2020 levels (3.5 percent and 5.7 million, respectively).

In April, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.5 

percent), adult women (3.2 percent), teenagers (10.2 percent), 

Whites (3.2 percent), Blacks (5.9 percent), Asians (3.1 

percent), and Hispanics (4.1 percent) showed little or no 

change.

Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers 

remained at 1.4 million in April. This measure is little 

different from its February 2020 level. The number of people on 

temporary layoff changed little at 853,000 in April and is also 

little different from its February 2020 level.

In April, the number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or 

more (often referred to as the long-term unemployed) was little 

changed at 1.5 million. This measure is 362,000 above its 

February 2020 level. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25.2 

percent of the total unemployed in April.

The labor force participation rate, at 62.2 percent, and 

the employment-population ratio, at 60.0 percent, changed little

in April. Both measures are up over the year but are 1.2 

percentage points below their February 2020 levels.

In April, 4.0 million people were working part time for 

economic reasons, little changed from the previous month. The 
5

number of people affected by this type of underemployment is 

below its February 2020 level of 4.4 million.

The number of people not in the labor force who currently 

want a job was little changed at 5.9 million in April. This 

measure remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 million.

Among those who were not in the labor force but wanted a 

job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force 

increased by 262,000 to 1.6 million in April. (People who are 

marginally attached to the labor force had not actively looked 

for work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey but wanted a job, 

were available for work, and had looked for a job within the 

last 12 months.) The number of discouraged workers, a subset of 

the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available 

for them, changed little at 456,000 in April.

Looking at supplemental pandemic-related measures from the 

household survey (these supplemental data are not seasonally 

adjusted), the share of employed people who teleworked because 

of the pandemic declined to 7.7 percent in April. These data 

refer only to employed people who teleworked or worked from home 

for pay at some point in the last 4 weeks specifically because 

of the pandemic; they do not include all instances of telework.

In April, the number of people who reported that they had 

been unable to work because their employer closed or lost 

business due to the pandemic fell to 1.7 million. (These 
6

individuals did not work at all or worked fewer hours at some 

point in the last 4 weeks due to the pandemic.) Among those who 

reported in April that they were unable to work because of 

pandemic-related closures or lost business, 19.0 percent

received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not 

worked, little changed from the prior month.

Among those not in the labor force in April, 586,000 people 

were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, down 

from March. (To be counted as unemployed, by definition, 

individuals must either be actively searching for work or on 

temporary layoff.)

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 428,000

in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6

percent.