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Friday, May 8, 2009.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: APRIL 2009
Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in April (-539,000), and the unemployment rate
rose from 8.5 to 8.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported
today. Since the recession began in December 2007, 5.7 million jobs have been lost. In April, job
losses were large and widespread across nearly all major private-sector industries. Overall, private-
sector employment fell by 611,000.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons increased by 563,000 to 13.7 million in April, and the unem-
ployment rate rose to 8.9 percent. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has
risen by 6.0 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 3.9 percentage points. (See table A-1.)
Unemployment rates rose in April for adult men (9.4 percent) and blacks (15.0 percent). The job-
less rates for adult women (7.1 percent), teenagers (21.5 percent), whites (8.0 percent), and Hispanics
(11.3 percent) were little changed over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 6.6 percent in
April, not seasonally adjusted, up from 3.2 percent a year earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
News
United States
Department
of Labor
Chart 1. Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted,
April 2007 – April 2009
Percent
-800
-600
-400
-200
0
200
400
Apr-07
Jul-07 Oct-07 Jan-08 Apr-08
Jul-08 Oct-08 Jan-09 Apr-09
Thousands
Chart 2. Nonfarm payroll employment over-the-month change,
seasonally adjusted, April 2007 – April 2009
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
Apr-07
Jul-07