Payrolls Increase by 223K in April, Unemployment Essentially Unchanged

Washington, DC, May 8, 2015—Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.4%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job gains occurred in professional and business services, healthcare, and construction. Mining employment continued to decline.

In April, both the unemployment rate, at 5.4%, and the number of unemployed persons, 8.5 million, were essentially unchanged.

Over the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by 0.8 percentage point and 1.1 million, respectively.