The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in April, rebounding sharply from a set of unusually weak data in March, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.4 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The rebound was a sign that the economy might gain growth momentum after stalling at the start of this year. The jobless rate fell to the lowest since May 2008, close to the Federal Reserve's expectation of full employment, where the unemployment rate is between 5 percent and 5.2 percent.
The Labor Department revised March's job gains down to only 85,000 from its previous estimate of 126,000, while February's data was slightly revised up to 266,000 from 264,000.
After revisions, employment gains in February and March were 39,000 less than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 191,000 per month, said the Labor Department.
The report suggested March's weak hiring, along with the sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter, may have been temporary.
The number of long-term unemployed, or those jobless for 27 weeks or more, fell slightly to 2.5 million, accounting for 29 percent of the unemployed.
The labor force participation rate, the share of the working-age population employed or looking for a job, ticked up to 62.8 percent in April.
Since April 2014, the participation rate has remained within a narrow range of 62.7 percent to 62.9 percent.
Average hourly earnings rose by 3 cents to 24.87 U.S. dollars in April. Over the year, the figure has risen by 2.2 percent. Economists expected wage growth will accelerate as the labor market tightens.
"This report largely reflects the ongoing recovery, but jobs in April were likely also boosted by a temporary bounce-back from winter weather," Jason Furman, chairman of the White House' s Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement on Friday.
U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in the first quarter this year, as uneven growth still haunted the world's largest economy amid a protracted weak recovery.
The Federal Reserve and some economists hold the slow growth was in part due to transitory factors, and the economy will bounce back in the near future with the support of strong household consumptions./.