Job growth slows, adding to concerns about the economy

“So far in this expansion, slowdowns in employment growth were just temporary setbacks in an otherwise rapidly expanding workforce,” said Gad Levanon, the chief economist for North America at the Conference Board business group.

The weak April job growth was caused by continued troubles in the mining industry, caused by low energy prices and cutbacks in government hiring.

The anemic quarterly growth was the worst in two years as financial market turmoil and a slowing global economy led businesses to cut back on investment and consumers to be cautious with their spending.

With stock markets having rebounded, economic growth is expected to pick up in the second quarter to about a 1.7 percent annual pace.

Analysts had pointed to the strong labor market as a sign the economy remained healthy despite some quarterly ups and downs.

[...] the weak economic growth has led Federal Reserve policymakers to hold off on additional increases in the central bank’s benchmark short-term interest rate.