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The incidence of involuntary part-time work surged during the Great Recession and has stayed unusually high during the recovery. This may reflect more labor market slack than is captured by the unemployment rate alone. Analysis across states and over time indicates that a substantial part of the increase is related to the business cycle. However, structural factors such as changes in industry composition, population demographics, and labor costs have also contributed. This suggests that involuntary part-time work may remain significantly above its pre-recession level as the labor market continues to recover.

Broadly speaking, the high level of part-time workers now found in the economy make improvements in the jobless rate look better than it actually is. The unemployment rate, one of the most important indicators of the nation’s economic health, has undergone a rapid decline in recent years. After peaking at nearly 10% in the spring of 2010, it now stands at 5.5%.

The survey showed 70% of CEOs expect sales to increase in the next six months, down from 80% in the first-quarter survey and the lowest level since 2012. Only 35% plan to increase capital spending, down from 45%, and 34% plan to boost hiring, down from 40%.

U.S. employers ramped up hiring last month and wages picked up after a winter lull, signs of an accelerating economy that nudge the Federal Reserve toward a September interest-rate increase.

The UCLA Anderson Forecast released Wednesday says the jobless rate will likely hover around 6.2 percent through the remainder of this year, fall throughout 2016, and reach 5 percent by 2017.

The number was just about in line with expectations for a 200,000 gain thanks largely to a big gain in service sector jobs. (Tweet this) The group added 192,000 positions, a big gain from the 164,000 the previous month.

The job reductions follow the closing of the sale last Thursday of the Union-Tribune to the parent company of the Los Angeles Times. The acquisition by the Tribune Publishing Co. will allow for the consolidation of the two newspapers’ printing operations, which will move from Mission Valley to Los Angeles, where the Times is printed daily, along with national publications delivered to San Diego County subscribers.

The California unemployment rate slid to 6.3% in April — its lowest level in seven years — and employers in the state added 29,500 nonfarm payroll jobs..

The unemployment rate, drawn from a separate survey of households, fell a 10th of a point in April to 5.4%, the lowest level in almost seven years and closer to the Federal Reserve’s expectation of “full” employment, which it pegs between 5% and 5.2%. The decline in joblessness reflected positive developments: The labor force grew as more Americans entered the job market and found work.

The city of El Centro, Calif., has an unemployment rate of 19.9%, the highest of any U.S. metropolitan area and a level comparable to some of the most troubled European economies.

The report on state unemployment rates underscores the weakening of a wide set of economic data in recent months. Reports on retail sales, industrial production and home building have all bolstered the case that the economy lost momentum in the first quarter of 2015. The latest report on state employment shows that the weakening occurred across much of the nation.

California employers added 39,800 jobs in March, and the state’s unemployment rate fell to 6.5% — its lowest level in seven years.

Fewer than 300,000 American workers filed applications for unemployment benefits for the sixth consecutive week, pointing to labor-market strength even as hiring cooled last month.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 126,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department said Friday. That was the smallest gain since December 2013. The average monthly gain in the first quarter was 197,000, down from an average of 324,000 in the final three months of 2014.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting the labor market continues to expand at a solid clip even as economic growth has stalled.