US Hiring Slows More Than Expected

The nation's employers pulled back on their hiring in April in a sign that persistently high interest rates may be starting to take a bigger toll on the economy, per the AP.

• Main number: Employers added 175,000 jobs last month, down from a robust 315,000 in March and well below analysts' estimates of 240,000, reports CNBC.
• Rate: The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% from 3.8%, though it had been forecast to stay the same. Still, it's the 27th straight month with a jobless rate below 4%—the longest such streak since the 1960s.

• Stock market: Dow futures, which were up about 300 points just before the report's release, rose even higher. They were up more than 500 points in the immediate aftermath, notes CNBC. Investors were hopeful the Federal Reserve will see evidence of a cooling economy in the report and agree to further rate cuts.
• Big picture: "It's not a bad economy; it's still a healthy economy," Perc Pineda, chief economist at the Plastics Industry Association, tells the New York Times. "I think it's part of the cycle. We cannot continue robust growth indefinitely considering the limits of our economy."