U.S. jobless rate is lowest since 2000

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Total non-farm payroll employment’s 164,000-job increase compared with an average monthly gain of 191,000 over the past year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

In April, job gains were centered in professional and business services, manufacturing, health care, and mining.

Employment in professional and business services increased by 54,000. Over the past 12 months, the industry has added 518,000 jobs.

Employment in manufacturing rose by 24,000 last month.

The average workweek for all employees on private non-farm payrolls was unchanged at 34.5 hours in April, the BLS said. In manufacturing, the workweek increased by 0.2 hour to 41.1 hours, while overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 3.7 hours, the government said.

In April, average hourly wages for all private non-farm employees rose by 4 cents to $26.84, a slower than expected wage growth.