WASHINGTON — U.S. employers pulled back on hiring in April, adding 160,000 jobs, the fewest in seven months, after a streak of robust monthly gains. The unemployment rate remained at a low 5 percent, roughly where it has been since fall.
Last month's hiring gain marked a drop from the average increase of 200,000 over the past three months. Weak U.S. economic growth may be making some employers more cautious about hiring.
Still, the government's report Friday pointed to a U.S. job market that continues to generate steady hiring and to outperform those of most other major countries.
Worker pay also showed signs of picking up. Average hourly pay rose 2.5 percent in April from a year earlier, above the sluggish 2 percent annual pace that has been typical for the past six years.
Patrick O'Keefe, director of economic research at the accounting and advisory firm CohnReznick, suggested that April's slower job growth reflects the broader slump in economic growth. The U.S. economy expanded at just a 1 percent annual rate over the past six months.