The national unemployment rate declined for the second consecutive month to 8.1% in April, the lowest since February 2009. 115,000 new jobs were added, with opportunities in professional/business services (+62,000) and retail trade/manufacturing (+29,300/+16,000). Weaknesses included a slowdown in hiring and losses in information/transportation (-2,000/-16,600). The document also provides economic data for various countries such as interest rates, trade balances, sentiment indexes and inflation rates.