---
title: "NY Times: Unemployment Rate Hits 3.9%, a Rare Low, as Job Market Becomes More Competitive"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/cb994439-fee2-479e-a799-c34e5ee4a58f
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/ny-times-unemployment-rate-hits-39-a-rare-low-as-job-market-becomes-more-competitive-2706454
category: "General"
published: 2018-05-04T18:13:26.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:52:22.901Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/5ad1f3827c0fd536a81ef1dac5747fee6598.jpg
---

# NY Times: Unemployment Rate Hits 3.9%, a Rare Low, as Job Market Becomes More Competitive

**TL;DR:** The U.S. unemployment rate has hit 3.9%, a rare low, with 164,000 jobs added to the economy in April. This marks the 91st consecutive month of jobs gains, the longest streak of increases on record.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-05-04. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/ny-times-unemployment-rate-hits-39-a-rare-low-as-job-market-becomes-more-competitive-2706454).*

## Story

On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department released its monthly hiring and unemployment report for April. As noted by a recent article in the New York Times, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. That’s the lowest rate seen since 2000, which is sign that the job market has become more competitive.

In April,164,000 jobs were added to the economy, with average earnings rising by 4 cents per hour. This report marks the 91st consecutive month of jobs gains, which is the longest streak of increases on record. As the New York Times notes, the last time the unemployment rate stayed at a level below four percent for an extended period of time was back in the 1960s.

Cassie has over five years of digital and traditional media experience. She joined NLA after working as a television news producer in both Milwaukee and Chicago, and now specializes in aligning strategies across the board for her clients, ultimately building buzz and telling compelling stories through content marketing, social media, digital campaigns and traditional PR. Cassie has a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast and Electronic Communications from Marquette University.

In her spare time, Cassie enjoys traveling and exploring what new cities have to offer in addition to spending time with her friends and family.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- General (sector)
- Milwaukee (location)
- economic growth (topic)
- job market (topic)
- unemployment rate (topic)
- U.S. Labor Department (regulator)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/ny-times-unemployment-rate-hits-39-a-rare-low-as-job-market-becomes-more-competitive-2706454). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/cb994439-fee2-479e-a799-c34e5ee4a58f).