US creates less jobs in April than expected

The US economy created 115,000 jobs during April which was fewer than expected. However, the unemployment rate fell slightly to 8.1% from 8.2% in March.

Employment has been rising for the past eight months, but the jobless rate has been stuck above 8% since early 2009.The weak report pushed US and European shares lower, with the Dow Jones index falling 168 points to 13,038.

Both the Nasdaq and the Standard & Poor's 500 had their worst week of the year, while markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt closed almost 2% lower. Meanwhile, the oil price continued to fall, with US light crude dipping below $100 a barrel on concerns about the strength of the world's largest economy.