WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 5.0 percent in April, the U.S. Labor Department announced Friday and the economy lost another 20,000 non-farm jobs.

The number recorded as unemployed was "little changed" at 7.6 million, the report said.

The previous monthly unemployment rate was 5.1 percent. A year ago, 6.8 million were unemployed with an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent, the report said.

The U.S. economy, however, has lost 260,000 jobs since the beginning of the year.

Most groups showed little or no change in April. The unemployment rate for men stands at 4.6 percent, for teenagers 15.4 percent, for whites 4.4 percent, for blacks 8.6 percent and for Hispanics 6.9 percent.