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1st LD: U.S. job growth picks up in April, jobless rate down to 5.4 percent

Xinhua, May 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in April, rebounding sharply from a set of unusually weak data in March, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.4 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The rebound was a sign that the economy might gain growth momentum after stalling at the start of this year. The jobless rate fell to the lowest since May 2008, close to the Federal Reserve's expectation of full employment, where the unemployment rate is between 5 percent and 5.2 percent.

The Labor Department revised March's job gains down to only 85,000 from its previous estimate of 126,000, while February's data was slightly revised up to 266,000 from 264,000.

After revisions, employment gains in February and March were 39,000 less than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 191,000 per month, said the Labor Department.

The report suggested March's weak hiring, along with the sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter, may have been temporary. Endi