There were 115,000 jobs added in April, figures show.
View full sizePeople wait in line April 24 in Portland, Ore., during a job fair. The unemployment rate dropped in April because more than 350,000 people left the labor force, the U.S. Labor Department reports.There were 115,000 jobs added in April, down from 154,000 in March, the government reported. But 342,000 people left the labor force, so the rate dropped.
Service sector jobs increased by 62,000, retail went up 29,000, health care added 19,000 jobs, leisure and hospitality added 20,000, while manufacturing rose 16,000, according to the government. Transportation and warehousing lost 17,000 jobs in April.
The average hourly pay for private-sector nonfarm workers rose a penny to $23.38, the government reports.
Experts cited by CNNMoney said they expected 160,000 jobs to be added and the rate to remain at 8.2 percent.
The unemployment rates for adult men (7.5 percent), adult women (7.4 percent), teenagers (24.9 percent), whites (7.4 percent) and Hispanics (10.3 percent) showed little or no change in April, while the rate for blacks (13.0 percent) declined over the month, according to the Labor Department.
Revised numbers from February and March showed 53,000 more jobs were added in those month than was previous reported. From December to February, the country was creating a net 252,000 jobs per month, the government reports.
About 12.5 million Americans remain unemployed, with just more than 40 percent out of work for more than six months, which is little changed from a month go, according to Labor Department figures. Long-term unemployment has declined by 759,000 over the past year, the Labor Department says.