by Calculated Risk on 5/07/2010 08:30:00 AM

From the BLS:

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 290,000 in April, the unemployment rate edged up to 9.9 percent, and the labor force increased sharply, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the unemployment rate and the year over year change in employment vs. recessions.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 290,000 in April. The economy has lost 1.4 million jobs over the last year, and 7.8 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007.

The unemployment rate increased to 9.9 percent as people returned to the workforce.

The second graph shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms (as opposed to the number of jobs lost).

For the current recession, employment peaked in December 2007, and this recession is by far the worst recession since WWII in percentage terms, and 2nd worst in terms of the unemployment rate (only early '80s recession with a peak of 10.8 percent was worse).

Census 2010 hiring was 66,000 (NSA) in April.

This was well above expectations, especially given the level of Census 2010 hiring. The increase in the unemployment rate was because of people returning to the work force - the decline in the participation rate during the recession was stunning, and it is no surprise that people are once again looking for work. I'll have much more soon ...