Friday's official jobs numbers were better than expected. The Labor Department says 165,000 private-sector positions were created in April, pushing the unemployment rate down to 7.5 percent, a decline of only a tenth of a percentage point from March.
Stocks edged lower on Wall Street on Monday after an industry group reported that U.S. manufacturing growth cooled in March and was weaker than economists had forecast.
A survey shows U.S. manufacturing activity expanded more slowly in March than February, held back by weaker growth in production and new orders. But factories hired at the fastest pace in nine months, an encouraging sign ahead of Friday's report on March employment.
A healthier economy and more model introductions should push U.S. auto sales above the 15 million mark this year, an auto industry research analyst predicts.
With only weeks to go, American businesses are bracing for the impact of the "fiscal cliff" in major ways.
Stocks edged lower on Wall Street Monday after a surprisingly weak manufacturing report heightened concern that fiscal deadlock in Washington is already hurting the economy.
U.S. manufacturing shrank in November to its weakest level since July 2009, one month after the Great Recession ended. Worries about automatic tax increases in the new year cut demand for factory orders and manufacturing jobs.
U.S. manufacturing shrank in November to its weakest level since July 2009, the first month after the Great Recession ended. Worries about automatic tax increases in the New Year cut demand for factory orders and manufacturing jobs.
U.S. service companies grew at a slightly slower pace in October than September because of a decline in new orders. But a measure of employment rose, indicating services firms hired more.
