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2nd LD Writethru: U.S. economy adds more jobs in April, jobless rate falls to 4.4 pct

Xinhua, May 5, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. payroll gains expanded at a faster pace in April, and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent, the lowest in a decade.

The total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in April, beyond market expectation of 185,000, according to data released by the Labor Department on Friday. The better-than-expected data followed a weaker reading in March, when payroll gains were only 79,000.

As more people got jobs, the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent, the lowest since May 2007. The low rate could help the Federal Reserve stay on track to gradually increase interest rates this year.

The Labor Department revised the payroll gains in February from 219,000 up to 232,000, while the data for March was revised down to 79,000 from its previous estimate of 98,000. From February to April, the monthly job gains have averaged 174,000.

The labor force participation rate, which shows the share of working-age people in the labor force, edged down to 62.9 percent from March's reading of 63 percent.

In April, average hourly earnings rose 7 cents to 26.19 U.S. dollars, following a 5-cent increase in March. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent, slightly lower than the 2.7 percent growth in the previous month.

The better-than-expected job data could provide reassurance that the broader economy is on a track of healthy growth after a lackluster start to the year.

In its latest policy meeting, the Fed gave an optimistic assessment of the economy, saying the slower growth during the first quarter would likely be transitory.

The U.S. central bank expected that the economy would continue to grow moderately in the future, as the job market has continued to strengthen, and the fundamentals remained solid despite some weaker economic data.

Analysts hold that the Fed is keeping its options open for more rate hikes this year, maybe preparing for a move as soon as June. Fed officials have signaled that they expect two more rate hikes this year, in addition to the one increase they made in March.

The central bank in March raised interest rates for the second time in three months, shifting to a faster pace of rate hikes under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump as the job market is strengthening and inflation is rising toward its target of 2 percent. Endi