US employment gains hit seven-month low, labour force shrinks

Washington: The US economy added the fewest number of jobs in seven months in April and Americans dropped out of the labour force in droves, signs of weakness that cast doubts on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the end of the year.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 160,000 jobs last month as construction employment barely rose and the retail sector shed jobs, the labour department said on Friday. That was the smallest gain since September and below the first-quarter average job growth of 200,000.

Adding to the report’s weak tone, employers added 19,000 fewer jobs in February and March than previously reported. While the unemployment rate held at 5.0% that was because people dropped out of the labour force.

“For those who had thought a June rate hike was in play, this was a nail in the coffin. This raises questions about a September rate hike. I would like to think the economy is in a better place at the end of the year,” said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York.

The stepdown in job gains could temper expectations of a strong rebound in economic activity in the second quarter after growth nearly stalled in the first three months of the year.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 202,000 last month and the jobless rate unchanged at 5%.

The dollar dropped to session lows against the euro and the yen after the report. Prices for US government debt rose, while US stock index futures fell marginally.

Average hourly earnings were the only bright spot in the employment report, rising eight cents or 0.3% last month.

That took the year-on-year increase to 2.5% from 2.3% in March, still below the 3.0% advance that economists say is needed for inflation to rise to the US Fed’s 2.0% target.