U.S. Added 263,000 Jobs in April; Unemployment Rate at 3.6%

The economy produced another strong month of growth, and the jobless rate fell to the lowest level of the recovery.

The Labor Department released the April data on hiring and unemployment on Friday morning, providing an up-to-the-minute snapshot of the economy.

263,000 jobs were created last month. Analysts had expected a gain of 190,000 jobs, according to Bloomberg.

The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, the lowest in half a century. The rate was 3.8 percent in March.

Average hourly earnings rose by 0.2 percent, which follows an increase of 0.1...