The US unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in April, a new low for the recovery. Payroll jobs increased by 165,000 and job gains for earlier months were revised upward

1. Economics for your Classroom
from
Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
US Unemployment Drops
to 7.5 Percent in April, Job
Gains Revised Upward
May 3, 2013
Terms of Use: These slides are provided under Creative Commons License Attribution—Share Alike 3.0 . You are free
to use these slides as a resource for your economics classes together with whatever textbook you are using. If you like
the slides, you may also want to take a look at my textbook, Introduction to Economics, from BVT Publishing.

2. Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.5 Percent
 The US unemployment rate fell to 7.5%
in April, the lowest since December 2008.
The unemployment rate is the ratio of
unemployed persons to the labor force.
 The labor force increased by 210,000 for
the month. The number of employed
workers rose by 293,000 and the number
of unemployed fell by 83,000
 The unemployment rate is based on a
survey of households that includes self-
employed and farm workers
May 3, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

3. Broad vs. Standard Unemployment Rate
 The BLS also provides a broader
measure of job-market stress, U-6
 The numerator of U-6 includes
 Unemployed persons
 Marginally attached persons who
would like to work but are not
looking because they think there
are no jobs, or for personal reasons
 Part-time workers who would prefer
full-time work but can’t find it
 The denominator includes the labor
force plus the marginally attached
 U-6 rose to 13.9 percent in March
May 3, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

4. Involuntary Part-Time Increases
 The number of people working
part time for economic reasons
has been unusually high
throughout the recession and
recovery
 These people are sometimes
called “involuntary” part-time
workers to distinguish them from
people who prefer to work part
time because of family or personal
obligations, school or training,
retirement, and other reasons
 Involuntary part-time workers rose
to 5.1 percent of the labor force in
April
May 3, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

5. Payroll Jobs Grow at 2-year Average Rate in April
 According to a separate survey of
employers, which excludes self-
employed and farm workers, the
economy added 165,000 payroll jobs in
April, almost exactly the average for the
past two years
 Almost all of the new jobs were in the
private service sector. Jobs in goods
producing sectors fell by 9,000, and
government jobs fell by 11,000
May 3, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

6. Job Growth for February and March Revised Upward
 The jobs report also included strong upward revisions for February and March of 2013
 Revised March job gains of 232,000 were the best in almost four years
May 3, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

7. Long-term Unemployment Continues Gradual Decline
 The recession and slow recovery have
been characterized by unusually high
levels of long-term unemployment
 The percentage of the unemployed
out of work for 27 weeks or more fell
37.4 percent in March, The lowest
since 2009
 The mean duration of unemployment
decreased to 36.5 weeks and the
median duration to 17.5 weeks
May 3, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

8. The employment
situation at a glance
This spider chart summarizes
the employment situation for
April 2013
The zero mark in the center
of the chart represents the
worst month for each indicator
since the start of the recession
The 100 mark represents the
best month for each indicator
immediately before the onset of
the recession

9. Click here to learn more about Ed Dolan’s Econ texts
For more slideshows and commentary, follow Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
Like this slideshow?
Follow @DolanEcon on Twitter

10. Click here to learn more about Ed Dolan’s Econ texts
For more slideshows and commentary, follow Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
Like this slideshow?
Follow @DolanEcon on Twitter