Business
African American unemployment dips slightly as U.S. economy adds 165,000 jobs in April
Some economists worry that restaurants, retail chains and other companies are hiring more part-time workers in preparation for the implementation of health care reform. Companies with more than 50 full-time employees in 2013 will be required to provide health insurance to their full-time staff next year.
The revisions to the March and February figures were unusually large. Retailers, restaurants and hotels added 48,000 more jobs in February than previously reported. They accounted for three-quarters of that month’s revision.
The government revises each month’s job totals twice in the following two months. The revisions occur because many companies in the survey submit their responses late.
The average workweek for private-sector employees declined 0.2 hour to 34.4 hours, but average hourly earnings rose 4 cents to US$23.87. In the past year, wages have risen faster than inflation.
The number of people who have been unemployed for more than six months dropped 258,000 to 4.4 million. Over the past year, the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 687,000.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
