Category — News

By JEANNINE AVERSA

The Associated Press
Friday, May 4, 2007; 11:14 AM

WASHINGTON — The nation’s unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent in April as cautious employers added the fewest new jobs in more than two years, signaling that the labor market is starting to feel some of the strain of the sluggish economy.

The fresh employment picture provided by the Labor Department on Friday showed that payrolls grew by just 88,000 last month as job losses spread beyond manufacturing and construction and into retailing and financial services. Workers’ paycheck also grew more slowly.

The new tally of jobs added to the economy was the fewest since 65,000 jobs in November 2004. The rise in the unemployment rate, however, was slight compared with March’s 4.4 percent rate - which had matched a five-year low. Taken together the figures suggest the labor market may be cooling - but not collapsing - as the national economy makes its way through a soft patch.

Given the housing slump, rising energy prices and slowing overall economic activity, “companies are being conservative when it comes to their new hiring,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Bank of America’s Investment Strategies Group. “Job seekers will need to have good resumes,” she added. [Read more →]