Employers in U.S. Take on Fewest Workers in Seven Months

Employers in April added the fewest number of workers in seven months and the U.S. jobless rate held steady as subdued economic growth prompted a more moderate rate of hiring.

The 160,000 gain in payrolls followed a revised 208,000 rise in March, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 200,000 April advance. The jobless rate, projected to ease, stayed at 5 percent, while wage growth accelerated.

Industries that showed strong first-quarter job growth pulled back, with retailers cutting payrolls by the most in two years and construction companies adding the fewest positions since June. More tempered additions to headcounts shows hiring managers are adjusting in the wake of economic growth that has slowed for three straight quarters.

“At the top-line level, this is below expectations so a bit disappointing,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Parts of the economy are resilient and parts of it are not.” As for economic growth, “it’ll be a modest rebound in the second quarter.”

Estimates of 92 economists in the Bloomberg survey ranged from payrolls gains of 160,000 to 315,000. March was initially reported as a 215,000 increase. Revisions to prior reports subtracted a total of 19,000 jobs to payrolls in the previous two months

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-06/employers-in-u-s-add-160-000-workers-fewest-in-seven-months