Economic growth continues at a healthy pace, inflation remains low, and two years of continuous employment gains have added over 3.5 million new jobs to payrolls. 78,000 new payroll jobs were created last month, after a large gain of 274,000 in April, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.1%. Annualized growth in the inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) was a robust 3.5% in the 1st quarter, only a minor easing from 3.8% growth in the 4th quarter of 2004. Forecasters see a continuation of robust growth in GDP and employment along with continued low inflation. Energy and some commodity prices continue to be elevated, but general inflation moderated last month and remains tame. In light of healthy economic growth and modest overall inflation, the Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to continue its policy of increasing overnight interest rates at a measured pace.