The U.S. unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent in April while the economy added only 138,000 new jobs, the slowest pace of job growth since October, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

The report showed that manufacturers, financial firms, professional services, construction and other companies all boosted employment in April. Manufacturers boosted payrolls by 19,000, the most in nearly two years.

Retailers cut over 36,000 jobs in April, the most since September.

Before the report was released, analysts had been expecting a job gain of about 200,000 for April.

According to the revised figures, U.S. employers added 200,000 new jobs to their payrolls each month in February and March, also lower than the previously estimated gains of 211,000 for March and 225,000 for February.

The report showed that U.S. workers' average hourly earnings stood at 16.61 dollars in April, up 0.5 percent from March. Over the last 12 months, earnings went up by 3.8 percent, the biggest 12-month gain since August 2001.

The Federal Reserve is keeping a close watch on wage pressures. While job creation is good for the country, the central bank is concerned that the economy could be growing so strongly that wage pressures mount and fuel inflation.

Source: Xinhua