U.S. employers added fewer jobs than expected in April, breaking a three-month-long streak of hotter-than-expected jobs data. The news s𓃲ent stocks sharply higher Friday amid investor optimism that a long-awaited cooling of the economy could be on the horizon and prompt the Federal Reserve to cut ღinterest rates.

Employers added 175,000 jobs in April, a slowdown from the upwardly revised 315,000 jobs created in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. That was well below the forecast for 240,000, ​​according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal, and was the first time in four months the job data undershot expectations. The unemployment rate edged up to 3.9%, higher than the median forecast for it to stay at 3.8%, but staying close to hi🧜storic lows.

While the number of jobs added wasn’t especially low by historical standards—the average in the three years before the pandemic was 177,000 jobs a month—it added to gathering signs of weakness. A reduction in job openings over recent months indicates the Federal Reserve’s campaign of🌌 interest rate hikes, intended to combat inflation, is dragging on the economy. 

A Slowdown That Has Been Slow To Arrive

Economists have long anticipated the downshift, but it has been slow to arrive partly because consumers have aꦕccelerated spending despite high prices and interest rates press🌜uring household budgets. 

A slo🌃wer job market in April meant lower pay increases for workers, who had their hourly wages rise 0.2% in April from March, according to the data released Friday.

The labor market slowdown worsens the ou🦄tlook for job seekers but could boost financial markets and provide respite for consumers because of its implications for inflation and interest rates. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 400 points in early-afternoon trading, while♒ the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up more than 300 points, a nearly 2% gain.

Fed Is Seeking Confidence Inflation Tamed

Officials at the Federal Reserve have kept the central bank’s 澳洲幸运5开奖号码💝历史查询:benchmark intere💧st rate higher for longer, using monetary policy to quell inflation, partly because of the labor market’s surprising win🐷ning streak.

Slower hiring and wage growth could take upward pressure off price increases, and encourage Fed officials to lower the fed funds rate, which influences rates on all kinds of credit including🅘 mortgages and business loans. 

The Fed, in deciding Wednesday to leave its key rate at a 23-year high, said that 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:progress had stalled in bringing inflation down to the central bank's annual 2% target. 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference after the decision was announced that, while he's less confident𓄧 about inflation's downward trajectory based on recent data, he still thinks it's likely to f♐all.

According to Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, "(t)he April jobs report came in at a healthy level, but much more in line with the cooling that the Fed is looking for, consistent with the idea that their monetary policy is working to rein in economic growth and ease inflation.”

“This month’s data shows that the labor market remains relatively healthy, even as it indicates that momentum is slowing, falling more in line with what is expected at this point in the monetary policy cycle," Hale said said in a commentary.