Congressman Sander Levin

(Washington D.C.)- Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its monthly employment report finding that in the month of April, the economy created 290,000 jobs, including 231,000 in the private sector, for the largest number of new jobs in four years.  Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI), issued the following statement:

“Today’s report offers us encouraging news-for the fourth consecutive month the economy has created jobs proving that we have indeed turned the corner toward real job growth.  It is especially noteworthy that the manufacturing sector created 44,000 jobs last month, the highest in over a decade.  However, while we have made progress, there is a significant amount of work left for us to do to address the 15 million Americans who remain unemployed.  We are working to pass legislation this month to extend unemployment benefits and health assistance for unemployed workers and to stimulate further job creation through tax incentives for businesses and infrastructure financing for State and local governments.”

Key findings in today’s report:

• 290,000 jobs created in April, including 231,000 in the private sector.
  
• 573,000 jobs created since December, including 483,000 in the private sector; jobs have now been created in 5 of the last 6 months.
  
• 44,000 manufacturing jobs were created in April, the largest increase since 1998.
  
• The increase in employment was broad based.  In addition to manufacturing gains, construction was up 14,000, wholesale and retail trade was up over 16,000, professional and business services was up 80,000, education and health services was up 35,000, and leisure and hospitality was up 45,000.  The 26,200 employment increase in temporary help services is the smallest since September 2009, suggesting that job creation could be shifting toward more permanent jobs.
  
• The unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.9 percent but this is the result of 805,000 more people entering the workforce, due to growing optimism.
  
• March numbers revised up to 230,000 jobs created (from 162,000).
  
• February numbers revised up to +39,000 (from -14,000).
  
• When President Obama took office, he inherited an economy that was losing nearly 800,000 jobs per month.  That’s turned around dramatically since passage of the Recovery Act, and the economy created nearly 300,000 jobs last month.

Click here for a chart illustrating job figures from the beginning of the recession in December, 2007.

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