On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary stated that the US economy added 288,000 jobs in April 2014. The unemployment rate dropped by .4 percentage points, from 6.7% to 6.3%, marking a decline of 1.2% year-over-year. Over the past 12 months, growth averaged 199,000 jobs per month.

Employment gains occurred across multiple sectors, with professional and business services, retail, food services and drinking places, and construction experiencing the most job growth. Professional and business services added the most jobs, 75,000, with gains in temporary help services, management of companies and enterprises, and in computer systems design and related services. Retail trade employment increased by 35,000 jobs, bringing the 12-month total to 327,000. Food services and drinking places added 33,000 jobs and construction employment grew by 32,000. Other industries that also experienced growth were healthcare and mining. Employment in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government saw little change.

Along with these preliminary numbers for April, the BLS issued final job gains for March, increasing by +11,000, from +192,000 jobs to +203,000. February numbers also grew by 25,000, from 197,000 jobs to +222,000.