article_snippet.sent: The unemployment rate remained at 5.5 percent, the Labor Department said in the Labor Department monthly report Friday.
article_snippet.sent: But because average hours worked fell in March for the first time in 15 months, Americans actually earned less on average than Americans did in February.
article_snippet.sent: Many Americans remain out of the labor force, partly because many baby boomers are reaching retirement age.
article_snippet.sent: The percentage of Americans who are either working or looking for work fell in March to 62.7 percent, tying the lowest such rate since 1978.
article_snippet.sent: Graph illustrating monthly US unemployment up to March 2015 .
highlights_snippet.sent: Official unemployment rate – which doesn't count people who have dropped out of the labor force – stands at 5.5 per cent .
  