U.S. sheds 20,000 jobs in April

WASHINGTON — The nation's employers shed 20,000 jobs in April, while wages stalled, leaving Americans struggling to keep up with rising energy and food costs, the Labor Department said Friday.

The nation's unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, dipped to 5% in April from 5.1% in March. The employment picture was less brutal that the 75,000 job loss economists had predicted, Still, it reflects a badly stumbling economy. The Commerce Department this week said the economy grew at a barely perceptible 0.6% annual rate in the first quarter of the year.

There are now 7.6 million Americans out of work, compared with 6.8 million a year ago. The jobless rate is highest for teenagers at 15.4%, African-Americans at 8.6% and Hispanics at 6.9%.

"The economy has clearly slipped into a mild jobs recession because the housing meltdown and credit market turmoil has spread to the broader economy," said Steven Wood of Insight Economics. "Persistent job losses will pull the overall economy into recession."

"The report does not prove conclusively that the U.S. economy is already in a recession, but it is certainly 'recessionary,'" said Roger Kubarych of UniCredit