US adds 223,000 jobs in April

The US labour market expanded by 223,000 jobs in April, bouncing back after an unexpectedly weak report in March. It was roughly in line with expectations, as companies accelerated their pace of hiring after emerging from a frigid winter.

The closely scrutinised report from the US Department of Labour showed the unemployment rate fell to 5.4 per cent from a month earlier.

Economists on Wall Street had expected the report to show a 228,000 increase in US payrolls, with the unemployment rate thought to edge 10 basis points lower to 5.4 per cent.

March job gains were revised lower to 85,000 from an initial reading of 126,000, while February's increase was upgraded to a rise of 266,000 from an estimate of 264,000 previously.

Data released throughout the first quarter has broadly disappointed investors and economists, prompting many traders to push back expectations of when the Federal Reserve will begin to lift interest rates.

However the labour market has proven mostly resilient, with initial unemployment claims trending lower over the course of April and surveys showing an uptick in hiring in the service sector.

Policy makers with the US central bank have said that they are parsing incoming economic data as they debate the first rate hike since the financial crisis, which some economists say could come as soon as June.

Traders have taken the view that the lacklustre first quarter pace, which the Fed put to transitory factors including the weather, will keep the central bank from moving until September or December.

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