By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy created 165,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5% from 7.6% even though the size of the labor force increased, the government said Friday. What's more, hiring in March and February were revised up by a combined 124,000. The increase in hiring in April beat Wall Street's forecast. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a 135,000 gain, with unemployment remaining at 7.6%. The decline to 7.5% puts the jobless rate at the lowest level since December 2008. Meanwhile, the number of new jobs created in March was revised up to 138,000 from 88,000, the Labor Department said, while February's figure was revised up to 332,000 from 268,000. The number of jobs created in February was the highest since November 2005 for any month that did not include temporary Census bureau hiring. In April, professional services added 73,000 workers; bars and restaurants hired 38,000 people; and the retail business generated 29,000 jobs. Manufacturing employment was unchanged and construction shed 6,000 jobs, perhaps due to colder than normal weather in the month. Average hourly earnings rose 4 cents to $23.87 in April and the average workweek dipped 0.2 hours to 34.4.
