Unemployment rate plunges to 6.3 percent

Thinkstock

Unemployment rate plunges to 6.3 percent
(Image credit: Thinkstock)

Wall Street expectations for decent job growth in April were smashed when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that an estimated 288,000 jobs were added last month. (Wall Street analysts had predicted a more modest 218,000.) The BLS also announced that the unemployment rate plummeted to 6.3 percent, the lowest since prior to the 2008 recession. And in more good news: March's figure was revised upward to 203,000 from 192,000.

Critics may point to a slightly negative note — most of the decrease in the unemployment rate came from people dropping out of the labor force. The labor force participation rate fell to 62.8 percent from 63.2 percent. The recovery has been a long, slow process and this dramatic drop in unemployment isn't quite as positive as it might seem at first glance.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.