The US unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 5 per cent in April on a loss of 20,000 jobs during the month, well below the 240,000 total jobs shed by the economy in the first three months of the year, the Labour Department said Friday, according to dpa. The jobless numbers come after growth figures Thursday showed the economy expanded by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter, temporarily easing fears of a recession in the United States. The economy shed 81,000 jobs by comparison in March - revised from an earlier estimate of 80,000 - and unemployment stood at 5.1 per cent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast that a further 75,000 jobs would be lost in April. The Labour Department said the manufacturing, construction and retail sectors continued to lose workers, while increases were noted in health and technology. Hourly wages increased 0.1 per cent in April to 17.88 dollars.
