The US economy has been adding an average of 276,000 jobs per month so far this year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, job growth slowed considerably in April with only 175,000 positions added.
Economists had predicted that 235,000 jobs would be added in April, although this fell short of the revised estimate of 315,000 jobs added in March. Additionally, the jobless rate was expected to stay steady at 3.8% according to FactSet consensus estimates.
The unemployment rate increased slightly to 3.9% in April, marking the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has remained below 4%. This slower-than-expected growth could potentially be attributed to the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes, which could have had a dampening effect on labor demand.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.