BBC News with Marion Marshall

Stronger-than-expected official figures in the United States show that unemployment fell last month to 8.5% - the lowest level in nearly three years. The number of new jobs rose by about 200,000. A BBC correspondent in New York says that if the employment trend continues, it'll help bluntattempts by President Obama's Republican opponents to discredit his economic stewardship ahead of the presidential election in November. The president welcomed the figures, adding that more needed to be done.

"The American people, I think, rightly understand that there are still a lot of struggles that people are going through out there. A lot of families are still having a tough time. A lot of small businesses are still having a tough time. But we're starting to rebound. We're moving in the right direction. We have made real progress. Now is not the time to stop."