The US job market continued to improve at a solid pace in May, giving some reassurance that the world’s largest economy has recovered from an abrupt contraction in the first quarter.
Non-farm payroll employment increased 217,000 in May, the fourth consecutive month of job gains above 200,000, Xinhua reported.
The unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 6.3 percent, the Labour Department reported Friday.
With May’s additions the economy has now recovered all of the 8.7 million jobs lost during the recession that followed the crisis.
Since the crisis the economic recovery has occurred in fits and starts, with key sectors such as labor and housing appearing to gain traction only to stumble repeatedly. The May report suggests sustained momentum in the labor sector because it represents the fourth consecutive month in which more than 200,000 jobs were created.
The monthly average for jobs created during the past year now stands at 197,000, just below the 200,000 figure many economists have said would make a significant dent in the unemployment rate Fox News reported.