US generates more jobs than expected in April, with unemployment rate at 3.6%

You U.S created more jobs than expected in April, highlighting the strong fundamentals of the economy despite the contraction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP ) in the first quarter.

The Labor Department reported this Friday (6) that 428,000 were created work stations outside the agricultural sector in April. March data was revised to show 428,000 job openings, up from 431,000 previously reported.

Economists consulted by Reuters predicted that 391,000 jobs would be created. Estimates ranged from 188,000 to 517,000 jobs. THE unemployment rate remained at 3.6%.

“It’s ambiguous whether higher employment gains would be a concern for the Federal Reserve or a source of relief,” said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP.

“Stronger growth that reflects people’s willingness to return to the labor force would tend to affect labor costs, while growth induced by employers offering higher wages in the face of labor shortages would have the opposite effect.”

THE Federal Reserve is trying to tighten monetary policy to reduce the inflation without driving the economy into a recession.

On Wednesday (4), the US central bank raised the interest rate by 0.5 percentage point , the biggest increase in 22 years, and said it will start to reduce its bond portfolio next month. The Fed started raising rates in March.

Last month’s job gains highlighted the economy’s strong fundamentals despite contraction in activity in the first quarter, weighed down by a record trade deficit.

There were a record 11.5 million job openings on the last day of March.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.3%, after rising 0.5% in March. That reduced the annual salary increase to a still robust rate of 5.5%, from 5.6% in March.

Although the Fed chairman, Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that a 0.75 percentage point hike was not on the table, some economists believe the Fed could raise interest rates above the neutral rate, estimated at between 2% and 3%.