Fewer Jobs Than Expected, and Unemployment Ticks Up to 4.2%

The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected last month, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, per NPR’s report on the latest hiring figures. NPR’s Scott Simon discussed the numbers with Betsey Stevenson, an economist at the University of Michigan. A hiring miss alongside a rising jobless rate points one way: a labor market softer than forecasters had penciled in.