Investing May 3, 2002

April Unemployment Spikes

May 3, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A modest uptick in payrolls was not enough to accommodate the hoards of workers entering the labor force in April, sending the unemployment rate surging to 6%, according to figures from the Department of Labor (DoL).

Reported by

Camilla Klein

While some 43,000 new jobs were created in April, the first time the economy added jobs in nine months, a whopping 565,000 new workers entered the labor force over the month, causing the unemployment rate to increase from its 5.7% level in March.

Employment increased by 87,000 in the services sector, but fell by 79,000 in construction, while job losses in manufacturing, at 19,000, continued to be moderate, according to the DoL’s report.

While the positive first quarter GDP data showed the economy growing at 5.8%, many fear that the recovery has now slowed and expect unemployment to move higher.