US Unemployment at 49-year Record Low, 2.1% for Asian-Americans

A vendor picks up a 100 yuan note above a newspaper featuring a photo of President-elect Donald Trump, at a news stand in Beijing on Nov. 10, 2016. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. job growth continued to increase during the month of April and the overall unemployment rate dropped to a more than 49-year low of 3.6 percent. This record low unemployment, not seen in an entire generation, demonstrates the economy’s robust growth.

The April jobs report, released by the Department of Labor on Friday, May 3, revealed steady wage gains over the past month, consistent with moderate inflation. The report was supportive of the Federal Reserve’s decision earlier this week to keep interest rates unchanged and signaled unanticipated adjustments in monetary policy. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described the economy and job growth as “a bit stronger than we anticipated” and inflation “somewhat weaker.”

Furthermore, the recent jobs report revealed that the unemployment rate for Asian-Americans fell sharply to reach another low at 2.1 percent, near the 2.0 percent record low set last year. This is the lowest it has ever been since the government began tracking data on Asian-Americans from 2003 to 2005. Since 2007, the Asian-American unemployment rate did not go below 3 percent.

Vice President Mike Pence touted the administration’s economic achievements in an interview with Fox News, calling the news of the jobs report “a confirmation of what the president has said all along” also adding: “What people are witnessing is that the agenda that President Trump ran on and that we’ve been delivering on over the last two years is working for every American. ”

“That you let Americans keep more of what they earn, you cut taxes on individuals and businesses, you roll back federal red tape, you unleash American energy, you fight for the kind of trade deals that put the American jobs and American workers first, that the American economy would come roaring back and we’re witnessing it and it’s truly inspiring,” Pence added.

President Donald Trump posted an enthusiastic message in response to today’s release of last month’s job report, refering to America’s economy as “the envy of the world.”

In addition, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross posted an official statement, thanking the president for enacting his economic policies.

This anticipated April jobs report is good news for the Trump administration, as it shows the continued solid economic growth since 2017. In the past month, 263,000 jobs were added, making unemployment the lowest it has been since 1969. Currently, job growth is well above the roughly 100,000 needed per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population. This past month of strong job growth was further evidence that February’s report of a slightly lower increase in 56,000 jobs was an aberration.

Job growth remains strong, despite anecdotal evidence of worker shortages in the transportation, manufacturing and construction industries, suggesting some slack still remains in the labor market. This latest jobs report also effectively eases concerns about another recession and diminishes expectations of an interest rate cut this any time this year.

Reuters and Epoch Times reporter Petr Svab contributed to this report.