The U.S. jobless rate dropped marginally Friday amid high levels of unemployment, pointing to an ongoing crisis that continues to plague the world's largest economy.

"In good times, this would be fine, but at a time like this, it represents an ongoing disaster," wrote Economic Policy Institute Economist Heidi Shierholz on her organization's website Friday, referring to April's jobless report that showed a decrease in unemployment by a tepid tenth of a point.

While April saw the lowest level of unemployment since December 2008, it could take years for the U.S. to return to pre-recession levels of jobs growth.

"It will take more than five years to return to pre-recession levels of employment," Shierholz contended.

The report is a "classic 'hold-steady' report -- enough job growth to keep the unemployment rate stable but not much more," she argued, adding that around 8.6 million jobs are needed to get back to a healthy labor market.

The average growth rate so far in 2013 is 196,000 new jobs a month, she noted. April's jobless rate slid to 7.5 percent from the previous month's 7.6 percent as the economy added 165,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor.

The civilian labor force participation rate was 63.3 percent in April, unchanged over the month but down from 63.6 percent in January, the Bureau of Labor reported Friday.

In April, the number of long-term unemployed - those jobless for 27 weeks or more - declined by 258,000 to 4.4 million.

Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed has decreased by 687,000, and their share has declined by 3.1 percentage points, the Labor Bureau reported Friday.

The number of unemployed persons, at 11.7 million, was also little changed over the month, although unemployment has decreased by 673,000 since January, the bureau found.

In an email sent to reporters Friday, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Gary Burtless contended the jobless rate "remains exceptionally high for this stage of an economic recovery, and long-term unemployment remains at historically high levels."

Indeed, U.S. recessions have historically been followed by roaring comebacks, unlike this post-downturn economy that has sputtered along for years as the jobless rate remains high, economists said.

This time of year, attention often turns toward the job prospects of new graduates, Shierholz noted.

"The labor market the class of 2013 will face is extremely weak," she said. "Over the last 12 months, the unemployment rate among workers under age 25 who have a bachelor's degree or more and are not enrolled in further schooling averaged 8.2 percent."