The US unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level for more than 49 years in April, according to official figures.
The jobless rate fell from 3.8% to 3.6%, the US Labor Department said, the lowest since December 1969.
However, the fall was due to a large number of people – 490,000 – leaving the labour force during April.
The data also showed that the world’s largest economy added a stronger-than-expected 263,000 jobs during last month.
Wage data showed that average earnings grew at an annual rate of 3.2%.
Analysts said the figures indicated that the economy remained healthy, but was not running at a pace that might cause the US Federal Reserve to alter interest rates.
Hiring gains were seen in nearly all sectors of the economy during April.
- Professional and business services – added 76,000 new jobs
- Construction – added 33,000
- Healthcare – added 27,000
- Social assistance – added 26,000
- Financial activities – added 12,000
However, there was little change in the numbers of involuntary part-time workers. The number of people working part time because their hours had been reduced or because they were unable to find full-time jobs remained at 4.7 million.
