April 2017 Employment Numbers

With consumer confidence and business optimism up, we had another good month for employment.  The percentage of the population that is employed (the employment – population ratio) increased to 60.2%, the highest percentage since February of 2009.  For prime working age Americans (ages 25-54 year olds), the employment population ration increased to 78.6%, the highest since September of 2008.   The number of people employed increased by 156,000 while the number unemployed decreased by 146,000.  As a result, the unemployment rate decreased to 4.4%, the lowest rate in 10 years.   The quality of jobs also appears to be improving.  The number of people working full time in April increased by 480,000 while the number of people working part time decreased by 370,000.   For the first three months of the Trump presidency, the number of people employed has increased by 1,075,000 while the number of people unemployed has decreased by 579,000.  The number of people working full time has increased by 1,282,000 while the number working part time has decreased by 172,000.   All in all, a great start.  Now imagine what those numbers will be once we have continued deregulation, tax reform and an ObamaCare replacement.