MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

In spite of sluggish US economy unemployment remains at 4.5%

The United States economy added 157,000 new jobs in May, the biggest expansion in two months as companies continued to employ despite the sluggish economy.

The US Labour Department figures, which also showed that unemployment was unchanged at 4.5%, were better than analysts had been expecting. They contrasted with April's revised figure of 80,000 new jobs, which was the lowest monthly total in two years. Wages rose modestly in May, up 0.3% on the month and 3.8% on an annual basis. Analysts said this data suggested inflation threats were easing. Sectors creating jobs last month included leisure, education and professional services. But the ongoing housing slump partly contributed to a fall in construction and manufacturing jobs. The US always sees a rise in the number of people in work, as the size of its workforce grows - partly through immigration. But there was concern about May's figure after April's weak performance and recent data showing the lowest first-quarter economic growth in four years. Although an improvement on April, May's figure was lower than March's 175,000 total. Economists said the jobs data hinted that many firms were managing to cope with the troubles hitting some sectors as well as the rise in petrol and energy costs. The minutes of the Federal Reserve's last interest rate meeting, at which rates were pegged at 5.25%, said inflation remained "the predominant concern" for the US economy. The Fed is scheduled to meet June 27/28.