Job growth in the U.S. reaccelerated by much more than anticipated in the month of April after showing a notable slowdown in March, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday.
The report said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 211,000 jobs in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 79,000 jobs in March.
Economists had expected employment to increase by 185,000 jobs compared to the addition of 98,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The bigger than expected increase in employment was partly due to strength in the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 55,000 jobs.
The health care and social assistance, financial activities, and mining sectors also saw notable job growth during the month.
With the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate edged down to 4.4 percent in April from 4.5 percent in March. The unemployment rate had been expected to tick up to 4.6 percent.
The unexpected drop pulled the unemployment rate down to its lowest level since a matching rate in May of 2007.
The household survey of employment showed an increase of 156,000 people, while the labor force edged up by just 12,000 people.
The report also said the annual rate of growth in average hourly employee earnings slowed to 2.5 percent in April from 2.6 percent in March.
"All things considered, a solid report that shows labor market conditions are now unusually tight," said Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics. "The Fed will respond accordingly."
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to hold its next monetary policy meeting in mid-June, with the central bank widely expectedly to raise interest rates.
by RTT Staff Writer
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