U.S. unemployment rate falls to 3.9 pct in April

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent in April after flatling at 4.1 percent for six straight months, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

It marked the lowest level since December 2000, with non-farm payroll employment increased by 164,000 last month, according to the department.

After revisions, job gains have averaged 208,000 over the past three months, as the job market is approaching full employment.

Average hourly earnings of private-sector workers rose 2.6 percent in April from a year ago, in line with recent monthly readings.

Friday's job report confirmed a strengthening job market that would give the Federal Reserve more confidence to further increase interest rates.

The Fed on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rates unchanged, while expressing its confidence that U.S. inflation had moved closer to its 2-percent target.

The price index for personal consumption expenditure (PCE), an inflation gauge preferred by the Fed, rose 2 percent from a year ago in March, the biggest increase since February 2017, according to the latest data from the Commerce Department.

Economists and market participants are widely expecting that the central bank would raise rates for the second time this year in its next policy meeting in June. Enditem