Unemployment rate lowest since 2001

WASHINGTON (AP) – Job growth faltered in May, with employers boosting payrolls by just 75,000. Yet the nation’s unemployment rate dipped to 4.6 percent, the lowest since the summer of 2001.

The latest snapshot, released by the Labor Department on Friday, offered a mixed picture of the jobs climate. Wage growth, meanwhile, slowed, a development that should ease concerns about inflation getting out of hand.

The count of new jobs generated last month _ 75,000 _ was the smallest since October, when hiring practically stalled as companies were jolted by fallout from the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Job gains for March and April turned out to be weaker than previously reported.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate dropped a notch from 4.7 percent in April to 4.6 percent in May, the lowest since July 2001.

In other economic news, the Commerce Department reported that orders placed with U.S. factories fell 1.8 percent in April, another sign the economy was losing momentum in the spring.