the bureau of labor statistics reported today in its monthly employment situation report that the accounting and bookkeeping sector gained a preliminary 1,100 jobs in april, reaching a seasonally adjusted workforce of 912,200.
april’s increase followed a drop to 911,100 in march, down from 917,400 in february and 919,000 in january.
overall, the u.s. economy added an unexpectedly strong 290,000 jobs in april, while the unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent. analysts had expected a gain of about 190,000 in the month.
with today’s revisions, april was the fourth consecutive month that the overall economy added workers. a revised 230,000 jobs were added in march instead of 162,000. the job market still has a long way to go before it can be counted on to provide a base for a sustained economic recovery, the new york times reported. more than 15.3 million were unemployed last month.
at cpa firms, employment data for march, the latest available, showed 415,700 workers, up from 411,900 in february and 399,500 in january.
