The April jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showcases an array of data that, prior to the pandemic, would have had economists dancing in the street. Payroll employment increased by 428,000; the average annual wage growth was 5.5 percent; and the primary unemployment rate stood at 3.6 percent—the lowest rate since 1969, excluding the months immediately preceding the pandemic.
Things are even better for rank-and-file workers. More than half of the employment growth came from just four industries: retail, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and leisure and hospitality. Average annual hourly wages of all production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 6.4 percent, while those of transportation and warehousing and leisure and hospitality workers rose by 11.2 and 12.6 percent.
