The economy created 263,000 jobs in April and unemployment reached its lowest level since 1969

May 3, 2019 at 12:41 UTC

By Lucy Bayly

The economy created 263,000 jobs in April, well above analysts' expectations of 190,000, according to the monthly snapshot released by the Ministry of Labor.

The country's unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, the lowest since December 1969, and average hourly earnings rose 0.2%, for an annual gain of 3.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics .

Some of these job gains can be attributed to the hiring by the government of the first wave of temporary workers to complete the 2020 census – a figure that should reach 500,000 at the beginning of the year. next year – the April numbers clearly indicate that the economy is still on the roll. robust growth path.

"With another strong employment report released in April, we are reassured that the labor market remains on a solid and steady track," said Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group.

Download the NBC News app for news and politics

With more open positions than people available to fill them, there remains a job hunter market, pushing wages higher as companies compete for the best workers. This rise in wages, coupled with low inflation and low borrowing rates, is stimulating the economy. The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that, for the third time this year, it would not raise interest rates, citing inflation below its target rate of 2% as one of the reasons for this decision.

Nevertheless, with an average of only 180,000 jobs added per month, 2019 is behind 2018, when 225,000 jobs were added each month. In February, only 56,000 jobs were created – a number that has been revised twice by the BLS. About 100,000 jobs need to be added each month to balance population growth.

The retail sector continues to bleed after losing more than 30,000 jobs in the first four months of this year. April figures indicate an additional drop of 12,000 people in this sector. Construction added 33,000 jobs, health care, 27,000 jobs and manufacturing, 4,000 jobs.

"We should not expect the number of startling jobs to continue throughout this year," said Martha Gimbel, director of economic studies at Indeed Hiring Lab. "The long-term unemployment rate remains almost double what it was in the early 2000s. Part of the part-time workforce, but preferring to work full-time, remains above its hollow from the previous recovery. "