US Payrolls Gained 288000; Jobless Rate Falls to 6.3%

The American economy gained steam in April, adding 288,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent, the lowest rate since September 2008.

After a sharp slowdown in December and January, and a modest improvement since then, economists had been forecasting a healthy gain for April as consumer and business activity rose in tandem with temperatures in many parts of the country.

The consensus among economists polled by Bloomberg before the Labor Department's announcement Friday morning called for an increase of 218,000 in nonfarm payrolls, with the unemployment rate falling by 0.1 percent to 6.6 percent.

To be sure, month-to-month swings in hiring are a snapshot of the economy, rather than a portrait, and frequently blur.

For example, government statisticians on Friday revised upward the number of jobs added in March, suggesting the economy was stronger than first assumed. And the April data could be significantly revised upward - or downward - next month.

The monthly Labor Department report is based on two separate surveys, one of households, the other of establishments, including government agencies, and private-sector businesses like factories, offices and retail stores.

The establishment survey provides the monthly estimate for payroll changes, and is favored by economists and professional investors, while the unemployment rate is derived from the more volatile survey of households. Although the two measures tend to correspond over time, month-to-month variations can be wide.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve officials said that they are seeing an increase in economic activity, and would continue to gradually reduce monthly bond purchases aimed at stimulating the economy.

Some other yardsticks in recent days have been encouraging, said Michelle Meyer, senior United States economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She pointed to the ADP survey out Wednesday of hiring among private employers in April, which showed the best monthly increase since November, as well as the April rise in the Institute for Supply Management's index of factory activity, announced Thursday.

'The second quarter seems to be starting out on a healthy footing,' said Ms. Meyer said Thursday.

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