Economy adds 164,000 jobs in April, unemployment drops to 3.9 percent
by Joseph Lawler
| May 04, 2018 08:31 AM
The economy gained 164,000 new payroll jobs in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning, and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent, the lowest rate since 2000.
The month’s job growth was just shy of the roughly 190,000 new jobs forecasters expected after a disappointing March report.
Yet, despite the slight miss on jobs, Friday's report indicates that the labor market recovery has strong momentum even as it ages into its eighth year.
Only around a little more than 90,000 jobs are needed each month to keep unemployment trending down, according to the Federal Reserve. Employers have been adding more than twice that many jobs over the past three months -- 208,000, when upward revisions are taken into account.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/economy-adds-164-000-jobs-in-april-unemployment-drops-to-3-9-percent