The U.S. added 175,000 jobs during the month of April, which indicated a cooling of what has been a red-hot job market, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.
However, April's job figures were still solid by recent historical standards. In the last decade, the U.S. averaged about 164,900 new jobs per month. Average hourly wages increased 7 cents in April to $34.75. Workers are making an average of $1.31 more than a year ago. Average weekly wages were $1,192 in April, up from $1,147 a year ago. The 3.9% increase in wages is slightly outpacing inflation. As of March, the consumer price index was up 3.5% compared to a year earlier.