U.S. Job Growth Slows, Unemployment at 3.9% in April

In April, the U.S. job market saw fewer additions than expected, with only 175,000 new jobs compared to the forecasted 238,000. Despite the miss, unemployment slightly increased to 3.9% from 3.8%, maintaining a sub-4% rate for the 27th consecutive month. Wage growth slowed, with average hourly earnings rising just 0.2%, a deceleration from March's 0.3% increase. This mix of data could influence the Federal Reserve's timing on potential interest rate cuts.