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- The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its April employment report on Friday.
- The US economy added 263,000 nonfarm payrolls in April, topping the 190,000 that economists expected.
- The unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, the lowest level since 1969.
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the US economy added 263,000 nonfarm payrolls for the month of April, surpassing the 190,000 that economists expected. The unemployment rate came in at 3.6%, the lowest level since December, 1969.
The unemployment rate ticked down from 3.8% in March.
That could push wage growth higher as companies compete for workers. Average hourly earnings are seen rising 0.3% after slowing in March, though increases have been softer than what economists would expect with the current unemployment rate.
Strong results would offer further evidence that a weaker period of hiring earlier this year was just monthly noise and not the start of a downward trend. Hiring rebounded in March, with the US adding 196,000 jobs, after slowing to a near standstill in the previous month.
In March, the US shed 6,000 manufacturing jobs after nearly two years of steady gains. That was just the latest sign of a slowdown in manufacturing activity, which accounts for about a tenth of output in the US economy.
On average, nonfarm payrolls increased by a solid 180,000 per month in the first quarter.
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Source: Business Insider – gheeb@businessinsider.com (Gina Heeb)