The U.S.
added jobs at a robust pace in April, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly
dropped to its lowest level in almost 50 years, suggesting the labor market
remains buoyant and will help guide the U.S. economy toward its longest
expansion on record in just a month.
Employers
added 263,000 new positions in the month, a Labor Department report showed
Friday. That follows a downwardly-revised 189,000 gain in March and beats in
the median estimate among economists for a 190,000 rise, according to a Bloomberg
survey.
A Surprising Surge:
The U.S. economy
added a higher-than-expected 263,000 new positions for April, following a downwardly-revised
189,000 in March.
February
payroll gains were revised up for a second time, with employers adding 56,000 new
positions from the second reading of 33,000.
Average
hourly earnings rose by 3.2 percent from a year earlier, missing estimates and
holding at that same pace from March. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent,
which is now the lowest level since December 1969.
Jobless Rate Falls To Fresh Low
The unemployment
rate in April dipped to 3.6 percent, the lowest level since December 1969.
“The
reality is that the economy is adding more jobs than expected in this state of
the nearly decade-old expansion,” says Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’ senior economic
analyst. “For workers, this remains a terrific time to look for work if they
have the right skills and talents to offer employers.”
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