After a month of slowed growth, the United States economy added 223,000 nonfarm jobs in April, according to the latest monthly employment report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
According to the report, the U.S. added 138,000 more jobs in April than in March. It’s also 54,000 jobs more than what payroll company ADP and Moody’s Analytics reported on Wednesday. But this dramatic increase over March is partly due to the fact that March’s already low job growth was revised down further—from the initially reported 126,000 jobs down to 85,000 jobs in today’s report.
Construction added 45,000 jobs in April, up from a loss of 9,000 jobs in March (initially reported as a loss of 1,000 jobs). While this number is preliminary and will likely be revised, April was the strongest month for construction job growth so far in 2015. Manufacturing added only 1,000 jobs. Architectural and engineering services added 3,700 jobs, which is 1,400 less jobs than the sector added in March.
Residential construction gained nearly double the amount of jobs as nonresidential construction, mainly due to the loss of 7,800 jobs in nonresidential construction of buildings. Heavy and civil engineering construction added 8,400 jobs, up from a loss of 3,500 jobs in March. Specialty trade contractors added a whopping 41,000 jobs, which, if the number is not revised, would be the strongest growth for the sector since March of 2007.
Charts: Maggie Goldstone; Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
This post has been updated.
