U.S. Creates 288,000 Jobs In April, Unemployment Rate Falls To 6.3% from 6.7%....The number of long-term unemployed fell 300,000, the sharpest drop in 2½ years, to 3.5 million.

Posted: 05/02/2014 8:31 am EDT Updated: 05/02/2014 1:59 pm EDT

The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, as the unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Here's more from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a robust 288,000 jobs in April, the most in two years, the strongest evidence to date that the economy is picking up after a brutal winter slowed growth.

The Labor Department also said Friday that the unemployment rate sank to 6.3 percent, its lowest level since September 2008, from 6.7 percent in March. But the drop occurred because the number of people working or seeking work fell sharply. People aren't counted as unemployed if they're not looking for a job.

Many of those who stopped looking for work last month had been among the long-term unemployed — people out of work for six months or more. The number of long-term unemployed fell 300,000, the sharpest drop in 2½ years, to 3.5 million. Economists said most of them likely gave up looking for work rather than found jobs. more