Drops in Unemployment Rates: Pros and Cons

For the first time since 2000, the unemployment rate dropped just below 4% to 3.9% for the month of April. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported earlier today that over the month of April, there was a net creation of 164,000 jobs. Some of the top industries were professional and business services. Other services experiencing notable growths are manufacturing and healthcare.

This could be good news for recent college graduates looking for jobs in their fields.

However, additional information on employment speak otherwise. NPR reports that labor participation remained at 62.8% and employment population ratio remained at 60.3. This participation rate has been stagnant for all of 2018 so far. Additionally, wages have remained fairly stagnant for all of 2018.

Author:
Nicole Masaki is a 2018 graduate ofCanisius College in Buffalo, New York. She is a triple major in English, Environmental Studies, and Philosophy. She will be a first year grad student at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Fransisco for their MA in Anthropology and Social Change program.