Washington - XINHUA
The U.S. job market staged a sharp rebound in April, as unemployment rate fell to the lowest in five and a half years, while the number of newly-added jobs rose to the highest in more than two years, Labor Department reported Friday. The nonfarm payroll employment increased by 288,000 in April, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 6.3 percent. Job gains were widespread, the department said in a statement. The upbeat data are the latest evidence that the world's largest economy is staging a strong comeback in the second quarter, as it shaves off the adverse effects of the severe weather that held back growth in the first quarter. The number of newly-added jobs in February was revised from 197,000 to 222,000, and that for March was revised from 192,000 to 203,000.