by half a percentage point on Wednesday, and signaling additional rate hikes are likely in June and July.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on May 4.
The Fed hopes to cool the sizzling job market gradually, without triggering a big jump in unemployment. But investors worry the Fed's action will tip the economy into recession.in the stock market since 2020 on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling more than 1,000 points.April was the 12th month in a row that the economy added more than 400,000 jobs.
"Given that the labor market has made such tremendous progress back towards 2019 levels, I think what we're going to see going forward is more of a normal pacing," said Nela Richardson, chief economist for the payroll processing company ADP.The tight job market could get additional breathing room if more people who've been on the sidelines come into the workforce. But 363,000 fewer people were in the labor force in April than the month before.
While the overall unemployment rate was unchanged in April, the rate for African Americans fell to 5.9% from 6.2% in March. The unemployment rate for Latinos also declined to 4.1% from 4.2% the month before.Scott Horsley is NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent. He reports on ups and downs in the national economy as well as fault lines between booming and busting communities.Keep up with all the latest news, arts and culture, and TV highlights from KPBS.