US employment at milestone, topping pre-recession peak

WASHINGTON: The economic expansion in the United States reached a milestone in May with employment exceeding the pre-recession peak for the first time – almost five years after the recovery began.

The 217,000 advance in hiring followed a 282,000 gain in April, figures from the Labour Department showed in Washington. It marked the fourth consecutive month employment increased by more than 200,000, the first time that’s happened since early 2000. The jobless rate unexpectedly held at an almost six-year low of 6.3%.