JOBLESS RATE HITS RECORD LOW.(MAIN)

Byline: STUART SILVERSTEIN Los Angeles Times

U.S. unemployment fell below 4 percent last month for the first time in 30 years, a strong performance that kept spreading the benefits of the economic expansion to more U.S. workers.

The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that April's jobless rate was 3.9 percent, down from 4.1 percent in March, as employers added 340,000 workers to their payrolls. The robust job market also continued to boost wages, now up at an annualized rate of 4.5 percent so far this year, and cut joblessness for Latinos and blacks to their lowest levels on record.

Economists said the only downbeat note is that the continuing brisk job growth raises the likelihood that inflation will …