WASHINGTON: The US economy pumped out a solid 223,000 net new jobs in April, rebounding modestly from a dismal March, the Labour Department reported Friday.

The jobless rate fell to a seven-year low of 5.4pc, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.

The gains were roughly in line with expectations after March’s sharp fall in job creation. But the overall picture of the labour market was little-changed.

The number of unemployed Americans was virtually unchanged at 8.5 million, as was the labour force participation rate, at 62.8pc, compared with above 66pc before the 2008-2009 recession.

Also barely changed was the number of people forced to accept part-time jobs, 6.6 million, and average wages, up a bare 0.1pc in the month and just 2.2pc from a year ago.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2015

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