WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to from 8.5 to 8.9 percent in April on the loss of 611,000 jobs, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.
The country has lost 5.7 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, the department said.
April's report continues the theme of job losses that were "widespread across nearly all major private-sector industries."
Employment in manufacturing fell by 149,000 for the month and has fallen by 1.2 million since September 2008.
Construction job losses show an accelerating decline. In the past six months, losses have averaged 120,000 a month. In the six months prior to that, the losses averaged 46,000 a month. April's loss of 110,000 construction jobs mitigated the average slightly.
The professional and business service sector shed 122,000 jobs in April. Retail jobs declined by 47,000 but healthcare remained positive with a gain of 17,000 positions.
Earnings for the month were unchanged after rising 4 cents an hour in March, the report said.
In the past 12 months, average weekly earnings have gained 1.3 percent and hourly earnings have increased 3.2 percent.
