WASHINGTON, June 5: The US unemployment rate fell to 6.9 per cent in May, the lowest level in 18 months, the government announced Friday, reports AFP.

The labour department's report followed three consecutive months in which the jobless rate remained steady at 7.0 per cent.

Total employment for May surged by 857,000, the biggest one-month jump tn nine years, according to the department which measures the rate by households.

The drop In unemployment suggested that the economy was pulling out of the winter slump, but labour officials warned that the job front was usually too erratic in the spring to be an accurate barometer.

The 6.9 per cent rate was the lowest since November 1991.