After a winter of rapid growth in the American labor market, April’s jobs numbers delivered a more mixed picture.
Employers added 175,000 positions, less than economists had expected and well below the average over the last year; and the unemployment rate climbed to 3.9 percent.
“But really, the slowdown shouldn’t be a big surprise, and isn’t particularly worrisome.”Layoffs remained low and most job sectors appeared stable.
Wage growth eased notably, though the unemployment rate remained under 4 percent for the 27th consecutive month — the longest stretch in more than 50 years.
In fact, some economists said that the April data offered hopeful hints that the economy was headed toward a more stable footing.
Persons:
We’ve, Ben Casselman, “, ” Ben
Organizations:
Federal Reserve