Congratulations! You get to keep your job May 08 NEW YORK If you have a job today, chances are very good you can keep it. Layoffs are pretty much non-existent in today's economy. The April jobs report showed the unemployment rate improved to 5.4%, the lowest level in about seven years. There was a net gain of 223,000 jobs during the month, but just as important is the fact that job losses have slowed to a trickle. Only 4.1 million people lost jobs in April -- the lowest number in eight years. During the worst period for the labor market, from 2009 to 2011, between 8 million and 10 million people were losing their jobs every month. In addition, the number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits in the week ending April 25 was the lowest since the white hot labor market in April 2000. Related: Good news - U.S. economy adds 223,000 jobs The lack of layoffs is a very good sign for both the current labor market, and for things to come, according to John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities. Before businesses commit to adding a lot of jobs, the first thing they do is stop trimming the staff they have. "If you really want to know the outlook for six months to a year, [look at] jobless claims, not hiring," said Silvia. "Firms may not be certain about adding staff quite yet. But they are saying 'I'm comfortable with what I have right now.'" Energy is one sector still dealing with layoffs as drilling projects grind to a halt amid low oil prices. But layoffs are way down in other sectors that were major sources of job cuts a year ago, including banks, media and government, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Related: Working but still poor More people are also quitting their jobs -- which is another piece of good news. People generally quit when they've been offered a better job, or because they're confident that they can find a better job. About 2.7 million people quit their jobs in February, the most recent month for which figures are available. That's up more than 10% from the number of people who were quitting a year earlier.
