THE US Jobs market: The economy added 160,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department reported Friday, down from 208,000 jobs in March. Unemployment was at 5 percent, unchanged from March. The figures were worse than expected; April’s jobs numbers are the lowest in seven months. Analysts had predicted employment growth of about 200,000 jobs, and an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, according to a survey of Bloomberg economists. However, average hourly private-sector earnings were up eight cents; in March, they were up six cents.
Analysts are now racing to declare that the lackluster figures ice any chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates at its June meeting.