The U.S. jobs market rebounded sharply in April with 165,000 new jobs, while the unemployment rate fell to 7.5%, its lowest rate in over five years, said the Labor Department on Friday.
The jobs figure for April exceeded expectations of analysts of 148,000 new jobs and helped lower concerns that following the disappointing March report for jobs that had indicated a slowing down for new hiring.
The Labor Department also issued a big upward revision for February and March’s job creation. The figure in February was revised up from 268,000 new jobs to 332,000, while March’s figure went from the original 88,000 to a more respectable 138,000. February’s 332,000 new jobs were the most added in a single month since May of 2010.
Unemployment dropped from its March rate of 7.6% to 7.5%, making it the lowest rate since December of 2008.
The recovery in the economy has recently showed signs of becoming slower as spending cuts by the federal government, tax increases and the recession in Europe combine to place obstacles in the way of growth.
The economy in the U.S. expanded during the first quarter at an annual rate of 2.5%, which was up significantly from 0.4% growth during the last three months of 2012. Nevertheless, the figure still was lower than forecasted by analysts. They also forecasted that growth would subside to only 1% during the next three months before increasing once again in the third quarter.
