We've Finally Regained All the Jobs Lost in Downturn

Today's jobs report shook out slightly better than expected. Last month, 217,000 jobs were added, while economists had expected 210,000; the unemployment rate remained at 6.3%, while economists had expected it to tick up to 6.4%. That's the fourth straight month of "solid gains," the AP reports. Meanwhile, April’s previously reported 288,000 new jobs were revised downward to 282,000, but as Steven Russolillo points out at the Wall Street Journal, that's "still the biggest monthly gain in more than two years." March’s 203,000 number was not revised.

The AP offers this quick take on today's report: "The job market has reached a significant milestone. Nearly five years after the Great Recession ended, the US has finally regained all the jobs lost in the downturn. Yet that's hardly cause for celebration," it adds, given the steady growth in population since then. (More jobs report stories.)