WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. employers cut back on hiring in April and more people stopped looking for work, troubling signs for President Barack Obama whose re-election prospects could hinge on his handling of the economy.
Employers added 115,000 workers to payrolls last month, the Labor Department said yesterday. It was the third straight month in which hiring had slowed, intensifying fears the U.S. recovery is losing momentum.
Even a slight drop in the unemployment rate to 8.1 percent had a dark tone because the fall was due entirely to people dropping out of the workforce.
“The bottom line is you don’t have evidence that this economy has reached escape velocity,” said Robert Tipp, an investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income.
