The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released the change in employment for the month of April 2016 today. See the graph below. This gives us a little pause for concern. Even though the unemployment rate remains unchanged, we are continuing to see a decline in our growth rate.
When I placed a trend-line on top of the percentage change over the prior period line, I see a down-ward slope. So since October of last year, I am seeing a slow down in the national economy. We are not seeing any of the other indicators (like new claims for unemployment) associated with a contraction in the labor market appear as of yet. We wll have to wait until next month to see if we have a trend here.
Amos B Robinson,
Principal Market Research [Data Analytics] Analyst
Robinson Analytics
"Insights for Improved Performance"
www.robinsonanalytics.com
