The job market slowed down way more than expected in April
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- The US unemployment rate remained low in April, but it ticked up.
- Nonfarm payrolls increased by 175,000 in April, per a news release on Friday.
- Data out Wednesday showed quits dropped in March, but over 3 million people quit.
In the US, the unemployment rate increased from March to April. Plus, job growth in April slowed down a lot in April, a new labor market report on Friday showed.
The economy added 175,000 jobs in April, per the news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. This job growth for the US was way below the forecast of 238,000.
The release said March's job growth was revised from 303,000 to 315,000. February's job growth was revised again, from 270,000 in the previous revision to 236,000.
Additionally, the unemployment rate is still below 4%. April's rate was expected to be 3.8%, but the unemployment rate increased from 3.8% in March to 3.9% in April.
Friday's news release about the labor market comes after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting earlier this week. The Fed held interest rates steady, Business Insider's Ayelet Sheffey reported.
"Inflation has eased substantially over the past year while the labor market has remained strong and that's very good news," Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said at a press conference on Wednesday. "But inflation is still too high, further progress in bringing it down is not assured, and the path forward is uncertain."
Inflation, as seen by the personal consumption expenditures price index, has been above the Fed's 2% target. This index climbed 2.7% in March from a year prior. The consumer price index also shows inflation is too high, rising 3.5% in March from a year prior.
Nick Bunker, the economic research director for North America at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told Business Insider days before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the release of new labor market data that signs indicate the labor market has cooled.
"It's still robust but in a very non-inflationary way," Bunker said.
A news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from Wednesday also highlighted Bunker's point. There were 8.5 million job openings in March, and while that wasn't a major dip from the 8.8 million in February, it does add to the point of a moderating but robust labor market. The number of people quitting also fell from 3.5 million in February to 3.3 million in March.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.