The industries below are among those that suffered moderate to significant job losses in April.

• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Communications

Construction led the pack, losing a whopping 79,000 jobs. Special trades accounted for 61,000, while general building contractors and heavy construction lost 12,000 and 6,000 respectively. Total job loss so far in 2002 is 155,000, but February's unusually warm and dry weather across the U.S. offset seasonal layoffs.

Manufacturing cut another 19,000 jobs. This industry has suffered significantly since the economy turned sour. It has led the pack more often than not, by losing an average of 119,000 jobs per month from March 2001 to January 2002. The relatively good news is that job loss slowed to an average of 37,000 a month, from February to April 2002. But in February, 26,000 motor-vehicle manufacturing workers returned to work from temporary plant shutdowns, accounting for some of the reduction in average loss. In April, employment in electronic equipment manufacturing was virtually unchanged, while industrial machinery showed a slight increase in hiring. Fabricated metals hired 5,000 workers, while furniture hired 3,000. But transportation equipment had job losses in aircraft and motor vehicle manufacturing, negating the gains across the industry.

Communications lost another 13,000 workers, with most of its recent losses concentrated in telephone communications.

The industries below were virtually unchanged, neither losing nor hiring significant numbers of workers in April.

• Wholesale trade
• Government