Gold man's read on the NFP for April

Results from the household survey were disappointing. Total household employment fell by 190k, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.0% (8.96% unrounded) from 8.8% previously. Results were somewhat better after adjusting for methodological consistency with the nonfarm payroll data; on this basis the household survey measure of employment would have increased by 50k. However, the labor force participation rate was unchanged during the month, indicating that the rise in the unemployment rate reflected job losses rather than an influx of persons into the labor force. While the news was discouraging, it follows four months of declining unemployment, and the level of the unemployment rate remains down 1.1 percentage points from its peak. The employment-to-population ratio fell slightly to 58.4% from 58.5% previously.