US Economy Adds 211,000 Jobs in April 2017

US jobs growth was bigger than expected in April as businesses added 211,000 posts.

According to the US Department of Labor figures, the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.4%, compared with 4.5% in March.

The rebound in the jobs market could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in June.

The US economy needs to create 75,000 to 100,000 jobs a month to keep pace with growth in the working-age population.

An unemployment rate of anything under 5% is considered to indicate full employment. The rate of 4.4% is the lowest since May 2007.

The rise in employment was driven by the leisure and hospitality sectors, health care and social assistance, financial activities and mining.

The report also showed average hourly earnings rose by 2.5% year-on-year, although this was down slightly on March’s figure.

Recent GDP figures showed the US economy grew at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first three months of this year, the slowest rate since the first quarter of 2014, raising concerns that the economy could be weakening.

Earlier this week, the Fed kept its key interest rate on hold in a range of 0.75% to 1%.

However, central bank also said it viewed “the slowing in growth during the first quarter as likely to be transitory” and still expected economic activity to “expand at a moderate pace”.