U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in April, bringing the official unemployment rate down to 7.5 percent. The retail trade accounted for 29,000 new jobs.
Employment has grown by 1.6 percent across the country over the past year, a gain of more than 2 million jobs after seasonal adjustments, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Private-sector job growth alone has been even stronger, up nearly 2 percent.
The industries gaining the most jobs were professional and business services, food services and drinking places, retail trade, and health care.