Employers added 175,000 jobs in April, signaling slower but steady growth compared to earlier this year, as higher interest rates ripple through the economy.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

That marks the 27th consecutive month that the unemployment rate was below 4 percent. This was last recorded during a low-unemployment period between 1967 and 1970, and again for a longer period between 1951 and 1953.

“The labor market is still going strong even if it’s a slowdown,” said Andrew Flowers, chief economist at Appcast, a firm that helps companies recruit online. “One-hundred-and-seventy-five thousand jobs is more than enough to absorb the workers in this market, and you can see that with the [low] unemployment rate.”

After a mini jobs boom that powered the first quarter of 2024, the labor market cooled down in April, reflecting job growth that looked more like the latter half of 2023. April’s job gains were the smallest reported […]