Economic News

United States Unemployment Falls to 49-Year Low

Another week, another better-than-expected economic report. Today the United States Labor Department issued its latest jobs report showing that the economy added 263,000 jobs in the month of April. Not only does that top the 213,000 jobs MarketWatch‘s poll of economists had anticipated but also helped bring the unemployment rate down to a level not seen in nearly 50 years.

With the added jobs, U.S. unemployment fell two-tenths of a point to 3.6%. As mentioned this is the lowest rate since December 1969. That said part of the reason for the dip was due to individuals leaving the workforce, which half a million workers did in April. Despite that, there’s little question that the labor market is still at a historic high.

The jobs report just adds fuel to the fire that was lit when it was revealed that the United States’ gross domestic product rose by a surprisingly high 3.2% during Q1. That news helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reach record point highs for the second time in a week. At publication time, both were on track to top themselves again. Additionally the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently up more than 200 points for the day.

April’s report also saw wages increase once again, climbing six cents. That brings the average pay rate in the U.S. to $27.77 an hour. While that keeps the 12-month average at 3.2%, that leveling off has been described as “disappointing” by some. On the brightside, MarketWatch notes that figure should help quell any fears about the Fed raising interest rates.

As has become customary, President Donald Trump took to Twitter for a victory lap after the report’s release. Among the President’s tweets was a retweet of a CNBC article to which he added “JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!” Later Trump also shared a screenshot from the top of Drudge Report (which highlighted some of the top figures from the release) and commented, “We can all agree that AMERICA is now #1. We are the ENVY of the WORLD — and the best is yet to come!”

Once again the continued strength of the current United States economy has upset naysayers. Despite some parts of April’s report proving more impressive than others, the main takeaways are good news overall. Can the already historically low jobless rate dip any lower? Tune in next month.