Business highlights

Washington Civilian unemployment in the United States hit a decade-low 6.3 percent last month as tens of thousands of jobs were created in construction, retail trade, and business and health services. On Friday, the US government reported a 0.3 percentage point increase, a slight improvement over March's rate. That increase cut the number of jobless Americans to 7.5 million, the lowest mark since April 1980. April's unemployment rate matches the identical 6.3 percent rate for the first three months of 1980. Not since December 1979, when unemployment was 6.0 percent, has the rate been lower than last month. The jobless rate has been falling steadily since September, when it stood at 7.0 percent. Mexican, Argentine prices rise