The nation’s economy is still on a strong upward trajectory, according to the latest monthly report from the Department of Labor, which showed an increase of 211,000 jobs for the month of April. Unemployment fell to 4.4 percent, its lowest level since May 2007.
April’s strong showing puts economic growth firmly back on track after a miserable March, when only 79,000 jobs were added (revised down from 98,000), and paves the way for the Federal Reserve to hike up the interest rate next month.
U.S. unemployment fell to 4.7%, the lowest rate since 2007. But job creation was very weak.
The U.S. economy only added 38,000 jobs in May, according to the Labor Department. It was the worst monthly job gain since 2010.
It’s also well below April’s meager job gains of 123,000. Job creation in the last two months has been markedly below the average of 200,000 jobs created per month over the past couple years.
The drop in unemployment came as more disheartened Americans stopped looking for jobs and dropped out of the labor force in May.
‘It’s a pretty gloomy report, hard to find a silver lining in this one,” says Curt Long, chief economist at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.
(Bloomberg) — Sterling Risk Advisors, an Atlanta-based property and casualty insurance broker with 86 employees, has added 13 workers since June and will probably hire 10 to 15 more this year.
“We are committed to growing,” said Doug Rieder, 50, president and co-founder. “We feel a lot better about business. We are pretty bullish right now.”
Small business, responsible for most American job creation, is finally gaining momentum, giving an expansion approaching its sixth anniversary some legs and leading an acceleration in job creation. Confidence is near a post-2007 peak for small companies, construction is recovering and credit conditions are easing.
Dispatches From The Front 