In April, the US saw a slowdown in job growth with just 175,000 positions added, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on Friday. This is the lowest number of jobs added since October of last year. The Federal Reserve has been working to cool demand in order to control high inflation, which has resulted in the slower-than-expected job gains.
Economists had predicted a gradual slowdown in the labor market due to high interest rates, which has been putting pressure on job growth. While April’s numbers are significantly lower than the 315,000 gains seen in March, they are in line with pre-pandemic levels and the rate needed to keep up with population growth.
The unemployment rate also rose to 3.9% in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This marks the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has been under 4%, matching a streak last seen in the late 1960s. Economists had expected 235,000 jobs to be added last month, with the unemployment rate remaining steady at 3.8%, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also announced that leisure and hospitality sector added zero jobs in April while manufacturing sector lost 26,000 jobs and construction sector lost 16,000 jobs . It’s important to note that this is a developing story and more information will be updated as it becomes available