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U.S. employers added fewer jobs than expected in April, breaking a three-month-long streak of hotter-than-expected jobs data. The news sent stocks sharply higher Friday amid investor optimism that a long-awaited cooling of the economy could be on the horizon and prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

Employers added 175,000 jobs in April, a slowdown from the upwardly revised 315,000 jobs created in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. That was well below the forecast for 240,000, ​​according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and the , and was the first time in four months the job data undershot expectations. The unemployment rate edged up to 3.9%, higher than the median forecast for it to stay at 3.8%, but staying close to historic lows.

While the number of jobs added wasn’t especially low by historical standards—the average in the three years before the pandemic was 177,000 jobs a month—it added to gathering signs of weakness. A reduction in job openings over recent months indicates the Federal Reserve’s campaign of interest rate hikes, intended to combat inflation, is dragging on the economy. 

Economists have long anticipated the downshift, but it has been slow to arrive partly because consumers have accelerated spending despite high prices and interest rates pressuring household budgets. 

A slower job market in April meant lower pay increases for workers, who had their hourly wages rise 0.2% in April from March, according to the data released Friday.

The labor market slowdown worsens the outlook for job seekers but could boost financial markets and provide respite for consumers because of its implications for inflation and interest rates. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 400 points in early-afternoon trading, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up more than 300 points, a nearly 2% gain.

Officials at the Federal Reserve have kept the central bank’s benchmark interest rate higher for longer, using monetary policy to quell inflation, partly because of the labor market’s surprising winning streak.

Slower hiring and wage growth could take upward pressure off price increases, and encourage Fed officials to lower the fed funds rate, which influences rates on all kinds of credit including mortgages and business loans. 

The Fed, in deciding Wednesday to leave its key rate at a 23-year high, said that progress had stalled in bringing inflation down to the central bank's annual 2% target. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference after the decision was announced that, while he's less confident about inflation's downward trajectory based on recent data, he still thinks it's likely to fall.

According to Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, "(t)he April jobs report came in at a healthy level, but much more in line with the cooling that the Fed is looking for, consistent with the idea that their monetary policy is working to rein in economic growth and ease inflation.”

“This month’s data shows that the labor market remains relatively healthy, even as it indicates that momentum is slowing, falling more in line with what is expected at this point in the monetary policy cycle," Hale said said in a commentary.

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A businessman has revealed how his dad impregnated his ex and relocated to Germany for proper upbringing of their children.

He made the revelation while reacting to a post on social media, which left many people shocked.

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Police operatives in Nasarawa State have arrested four suspects posing as EFCC operatives who r%bbed students of the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa and abd¥cted one Adudu Kingsley, an ND II student.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Ramhan Nansel, made this known in a statement on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

“On 17/04/2024 at about 1545hrs, a distress call was received that four individuals posing as EFCC personnel, using a Toyota Corolla, Green in colour with registration number Abuja YAB 509 TT robbed some students of Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa at Samakwe Lodge behind Government College, Nasarawa LGA and abd¥cted one Adudu Kingsley, an ND II Student of the same Polytechnic.

Reacting to the unsavoury development, Police operatives gave the suspects a hot chase and a roadblock was mounted at Laminga junction to stop the suspects from escaping with the victim, but they hit the barrier and fled

Furthermore, Police operatives at Anguwan Madugu were contacted to mount another roadblock, which the suspects sighted from a distance; abandoned their operational vehicle and the abd¥cted student and fled.

Luck ran out of one of the suspects as he was caught and b£@ten mercilessly by an angry mob before the arrival of the Police while others fled

The suspect was rescued from the mob by the Police and rushed to Primary Health Care, Laminga, where he di£d while receiving treatment.

A search of the recovered vehicle yielded two identification cards linking the fleeing suspects to the syndicate. Further investigation led to the arrest of three additional members: Hyelda Aliyu Ibrahim, Henry Patrick Okwu, and Shuaibu Abubakar (the operational driver).

Exhibits recovered include an iPhone 12 Pro Max, Huawei, and Tecno Spark 5, as well as fake EFCC ID cards. The suspects have confessed to being the syndicate responsible for r%bbing and t£rrorising student areas in Keffi and Nasarawa LGA

Effort is ongoing to arrest one identified suspect that is at large,” the statement reads in part.

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