The monthly jobs report for April shows that the U.S. economy may finally be recovering from the sharp decline in added jobs over the rough winter. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent and total payroll employment jumped by 288,000.
The Labor Department said that the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percent from the previous month, when the rate was 6.7 percent. There are still 9.8 million unemployed people.
According to the New York Times, these numbers were better than economists had expected.
It is worth noting that the monthly jobs reports only provide a small look at the country’s economic status. For example, today, the Labor Department actually adjusted the numbers for both February and March up, suggesting that the economy wasn’t as bad as previously thought. February was revised up to 222,000 added jobs, while March was up to 203,000 added jobs. That’s 36,000 more than previously reported for both months.
The professional and business services sector showed the most growth in April, adding 75,000 jobs. Food services added 33,000 jobs.
According to USA Today, the government said earlier this week that the economy has only grown 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014, despite the job growth.