Unemployment Rate, Job Market | featured news

The job market plugged along steadily, and unemployment fell in April, according to new data out Friday, suggesting that the U.S. economy is still expanding. The nation added 165,000 jobs in April as the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent, from 7.6 percent in March, the Labor Department said on Friday. The news was particularly welcome after a mere 88,000 jobs were initially reported to have been added in March; the new report revised that estimate to a healthier 138,000, suggesting that the labor market isn't slumping as much as it had appeared.

The nation's job market took a turn for the worse last month as employers sharply pulled back their hiring and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.1%, the Labor Department said Friday.

Unemployment rates rose in 43 states last month, the government said Friday, painting a bleak picture of the job market and illustrating nationwide data released two weeks ago....