WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy created 223,000 new jobs in April, rebounding sharply after a revised 85,000 gain in the prior month. The increase in jobs and more people entering the labor force tugged the unemployment rate down to 5.4% from 5.5%, marking the lowest level since May 2008, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a gain of 228,000 nonfarm jobs. The labor-force participation rate edged up to 62.8% from 62.7%. The government slashed its estimate of jobs created in March to 85,000 from 126,000. February's gain was raised slightly to 266,000 from 264,000. Despite the springback in hiring in April, job growth slowed to an average of 194,000 in the first four months of 2015 from a 260,000 monthly average in 2014.