WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring in the United States rebounded in April as employers added a brisk 211,000 jobs, a sign that the economy’s slump in the first three months of the year could prove temporary.
The unemployment rate dipped to 4.4 percent — its lowest point in a decade — from 4.5 percent in March.
The figures suggest that businesses expect consumer demand to rebound after a lackluster first quarter, when Americans increased spending at the slowest pace in seven years, and will need more employees.
Still, average paychecks grew more slowly in April, increasing 2.5 percent over the past 12 months, below March’s year-over-year gain. Typically, employers are forced to pay more as they compete for a smaller pool of unemployed workers. Hourly pay gains are usually closer to 3.5 percent in a strong economy.
Some evidence suggests that economic growth is rebounding in the current April-June quarter, with some economists forecasting that it could top a 3 percent annual rate, compared with the first quarter’s 0.7 rate. Last quarter, consumers spent less in part because of low utility bills during an unseasonably warm winter. That’s likely to prove a temporary restraint.
And the housing market is reaching new heights as home sales and construction march upward even though a limited number of properties are for sale. Sales of existing homes jumped in March to their highest level in more than a decade.
Still, average hourly pay has remained well below the roughly 3.5 percent annual pay gains typical of a healthy economy. Inflation has also picked up, eroding even that limited income growth. With the unemployment rate low, companies may eventually have to pay more to attract and keep employees.
One trend that could hold back pay gains would be a flood of job-seekers coming off the sidelines and looking for work. That would give businesses more potential employees to hire, thereby reducing the need to pay more.
Retail store chains, like Sears and Macy’s, have been slashing jobs in the face of ferocious competition from Amazon.com and other e-commerce companies. That’s transformed retail to a job-losing industry. Many traditional retailers are rapidly building up their own online storefronts and expanding their warehousing and logistics divisions. But those functions are less labor-intensive and are unlikely to fully offset the job losses at physical stores.
Factories have mostly recovered over the past six months from nearly two years of struggle. Plummeting oil prices had caused drilling firms to slash orders for steel pipe, machinery and other equipment. And weak growth overseas, plus a strong dollar, depressed exports. But oil and gas prices stabilized last fall. Growth is picking up in Europe and Japan and has stabilized in China. All that has helped lift factory output.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thanks Pres. Obama. You will never get the full credit you deserve. The only economic downturn on your watch was the one you inherited from your predecessor. You left things way better than you found them.
It looks like we’ll need to hire immigrants to fill the oncoming shortage of qualified workers. Immigrants are anxious to come here and work, and they contribute billions to local, regional and national economies. Seriously. the palate of global hi-tec companies in this nation need qualified, well educated employees to engineer and produce their products. Republicans don’t believe in funding a well educated citizenry, so we’re literally dependent on immigrants to fill the available jobs that our economy requires to function. Apparently, Republicans don’t think Americans are worth a good education. American service jobs are easily outsourced to foreign countries, while we need foreign workers to fill the highly technical jobs.
Of course, wages are still flat. That’s a positive for the GOP. Underemployment is now at the highest level its ever been. CEOs are getting richer. The GOP keeps cutting their taxes, and the middle class keeps getting smaller and smaller. It seems like the GOP Plan is working perfectly.
Wait…
I don’t think I follow here. Because the winter was unseasonably warm consumers didn’t have to spend as much on heating, and this is why there was a slump?
Wouldn’t there be a increase in other spending if consumers were so confident in the economy and had extra money in their pocket? I don’t see how the incoming warm summer will suggest we’ll see a 3% gain in the economy.
Or are we really counting getting fucked sideways by utility bills as “economic health” and “consumer confidence in the economy” now, and not the price that is paid to not die of hypo/hyperthermia in my own damn home""
It has been reported that tourism is down 17% yet, this report shows an increase of 55,000 increase in hospitality jobs.
I wonder how many perfect storms began with a beautiful, sunny day.