Washington, June 06: The US unemployment rate rose in May to its highest level in nearly nine years but the economy lost fewer jobs than expected, the government said on Friday in a report that may offer hope for the weak economy. The unemployment rate inched up to 6.1 percent, the highest level since July 1994, from 6.0 percent in April, the Labor Department said. Employers cut 17,000 workers from their payrolls in May -- a smaller decline than the 39,000 drop projected by US economists said.

The May jobs report included a major overhaul of the way the department compiles its survey and calculates its results. In an encouraging sign, the changes rendered the recent job picture less gloomy than it had appeared in earlier government estimates.
April payrolls were revised to an unchanged reading after Labor had earlier said they tumbled 48,000. However, March was revised down to show a 151,000 jobs drop versus an earlier 124,000 fall. In total, 151,000 jobs were lost over the two months, an improvement from Labor's prior report of a 172,000 slide in payrolls. Bureau Report