Job losses in the United States in April were less severe than analysts expected, giving the markets hope that the much-discussed recession down south is milder than the previous economic slowdown.

The U.S. unemployment eate fell 0.1 percentage points to 5.1 per cent, as the economy lost 20,000 jobs. A Bloomberg report said analysts had forecast a drop of 75,000 jobs, after U.S. payrolls shrank by 81,000 jobs in March.

Employment fell by an average of 65,000 a month in the first third of the year, which was half of the 121,000 jobs lost per month in the same period of the 2001 recession.

However, the U.S. Labor Department also said workers' average hourly earnings rose by only a penny, or 0.1 per cent, to $17.88, the smallest raise in half a year, meaning that weekly earnings fell by $1.45 to $602.56.