Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 274,000 in April, and the unemployment rate held at 5.2 percent. The in- crease in payroll jobs followed revised gains of 300,000 in February and 146,000 in March. Over the month, employ- ment growth was widespread. Notable gains continued in construction, mining, food services, and health care.

Among the goods-producing industries, construction employment rose by 47,000, continuing the strong growth trend of the last 2 years. Most of April's increase oc- curred in specialty trade contracting (40,000), with gains in both its residential and nonresidential components. Mining added 8,000 jobs in April. Over the past 6 months, mining employment has risen by 31,000, largely reflecting increased hiring for support activities for oil and gas operations.

Manufacturing employment was essentially unchanged both in April and over the year. The manufacturing workweek was up by one-tenth of an hour over the month, and factory overtime held at 4.5 hours.