US added 211,000 jobs in April, unemployment rate fell to 10-year low of 4.4 percent

AP via abcnews.com ^ | May 5, 2017 | AP

[John W]

US added 211,000 jobs in April, unemployment rate fell to 10-year low of 4.4 percent.

[houeto]

The U-6 includes those looking for work, those that have given up looking and those that have been forced into part time work. The widely reported U-3 considers everyone employed that work as little as 1 hour per week. Ridiculous.

BTW, the U-6 (real unemployment) came in at 8.11%. The lowest it has been since August of 2001.

[matt04]

True. But only when the movement can help the dems, no matter how they fudge the numbers.

[hinckley buzzard]

Here in plain old NE Ohio, employers are beating the bushes looking for people to come work for them. Sometimes anymore I think FR is a foreign land where the sun never shines and the soup lines are endless. WTF people.

[Personal Responsibility]

Where I work in NY, most hirings are part time. Very difficult to land a full time job with vacation, benefits etc..

Across my company (global, 200k employees), layoffs and “low wage replacements” happen reasonably regularly.
Across my field (IT), layoffs to “low cost centers” are the norm.

[RipSawyer]

Yes, I don’t think it ever got quite that low back in the sixties but a job was as easy to get as a haircut back then, sometimes easier. 4.4 percent is I think about what they used to say was the minimum below which it could not go because of “slippage”, meaning people who took a couple of weeks off between leaving one job and starting another.

[RipSawyer]

That may not mean much, for years I have seen instances of businesses in this area running help wanted ads but never hiring anyone. One auto parts store used to run and ad continuously but if you inquired they would say they didn’t need anyone. My wife applied for an office job at a hospital and never heard from them and the job was never filled, they just kept running the ad. I have been told that it has something to do with meeting regulations about hiring but I don’t understand any of it.

A few years ago someone actually put out a column saying that there was no lack of jobs because the number of help wanted ads on the internet exceeded the number of people who were unemployed. I laughed long and hard at that one.

[TwelveOfTwenty]

It gets even better. Full time jobs jumped by 480,000. Now that’s change I can believe in.

[TwelveOfTwenty]

I hate the mantra “It’s the economy, stupid” but a strong economy could really help the GOP in the 2018 mid-terms.

It would also help President Trump with the Republicans. It's not like they've been much help with getting his agenda through, but that will change as things get better and he gets the credit.

[No Dems 2016]

It would also help President Trump with the Republicans. It's not like they've been much help with getting his agenda through, but that will change as things get better and he gets the credit.

I agree. The GOPEs are already viewing him more seriously than before. Let's hope that continues as things get better in America.

[StolarStorm]

In IT-Tech I'm seeing a great deal of openings, but they stay open for a very long time. Open positions but not being filled. I suspect employers have been hoping that Trump would back down and increase H1-B and other visas.

There is going to be a mad scramble in the tech sector in a few months..... :) Smart employers should be hiring right now.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Sometimes anymore I think FR is a foreign land where the sun never shines and the soup lines are endless. WTF people.”

Exactly! We have a number of friends that own small businesses. The hardest part IS finding decent people to work for you these days.

If anyone has a modicum of drive, ambition, smarts and a good work ethic - you CAN write your own ticket these days.

Again, I say, you’ve nailed it. But, the Nattering Neighbobs of Negativity sell more soap and hamburgers and cars, I guess.

*SHRUG*