US Economy Added More Jobs Than Expected In April

The U.S. economy exceeded Wall Street expectations when it came to job creation in April.

According to a report released Friday by the Department of Labor, businesses made 263,000 new hires last month. That surpassed analysts' predictions of 190,000 by quite a bit. 

And the nation's unemployment rate fell to 3.6% — the lowest it's been since December 1969.

As NBC points out, some of those hires were temporary government workers who will carry out the 2020 census. But one expert told the outlet Friday's report is a good indication the labor market is "staying on a strong and steady course."

The report says April's job gains were the strongest in fields like health care, construction and business services.