Economics
Payrolls Signal Gradual U.S. Slowdown, Not Abrupt Slump
- Hiring weakness in retail, construction follows outsized gains
- Soft report hardens view Fed will keep rates on hold in June
Analyzing the Data Behind the April Jobs Report
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The strength of the U.S. job market is slowly unraveling, not coming apart at the seams.
The 160,000 increase in April payrolls was much smaller than the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg that projected a 200,000 gain. Yet the miss was centered in areas such as retailing and construction, where headcounts had surged at the start of the year. The Labor Department’s report on Friday also showed the jobless rate held at 5 percent last month as the workforce shrank.