WASHINGTON (May 3, 2013) — U.S. nonfarm payroll employment rose by 165,000 in April, and the unemployment rate inched down to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent in March, according to the latest statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The employment figures were nearly double the increase of 88,000 jobs posted in March.
"April was another positive, albeit lackluster, month for job creation," said William C. Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). "But small business owners are expressing a bit more enthusiasm in hiring plans in the months to come."
Professional and business services showed the strongest growth in April, with 73,000 new jobs, the BLS said. Retail trade also had strong growth, with 29,000 new jobs.
Manufacturing, however, was unchanged in April. Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, and Alan Tonelson, research fellow for the U.S. Business and Industry Research Council, both said the April figures showed the extreme lack of any initiative in Washington to promote U.S. manufacturing.
"The latest jobs report shows that we are a long way from a true resurgence in American manufacturing," Mr. Paul said. "We strongly believe that we won't see real growth in manufacturing jobs without the right policies from Washington."
"Manufacturing's share of total nonfarm jobs has sunk to 8.85 percent—well below the 9.95 percent level it hit when the recession began in late 2007," Mr. Tonelson said.
"If the president wants to foster a genuine manufacturing renaissance, less happy talk and major economic policy changes are urgently needed, especially on the trade front," he said.