NEW YORK, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar index increased against most other major currencies in late trading on Friday, as investors meditated on the country's better-than-expected jobs report.
U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in May, much higher than economists' estimate of 188,000, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to 26.92 U.S. dollars. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 71 cents, or 2.7 percent, according to the department.
"At 3.8 percent, the unemployment rate is now at its 2000 cycle low. If it falls any more, we'll have to go back 50-60 years to find a comparable level of employment health," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May, and the overall economy grew for the 109th consecutive month, according to the latest report released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
The manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers' index (PMI), registered 58.7 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the April reading of 57.3 percent.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.24 percent at 94.203 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.1663 dollars from 1.1691 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.3345 dollars from 1.3290 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7570 dollar from 0.7566 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 109.53 Japanese yen, higher than 108.68 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up to 0.9887 Swiss franc from 0.9849 Swiss franc, and it increased to 1.2969 Canadian dollars from 1.2958 Canadian dollars. Enditem
