EXPLAINER: More pressure on the Fed from April jobs report

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Reporter

WASHINGTON (AP) — The April jobs report provided mixed signals on the economic issue most on the minds of Americans: Chronically high inflation. On the one hand, the proportion of people who are either working or looking for work slipped in April after a string of increases. Such a decline in the workforce often compels employers to raise pay to try to fill the record-high number of open jobs. Companies typically then pass on those higher labor costs to consumers in the form of higher prices. On the other hand, average hourly pay increases slowed last month and have weakened over the past three months, a trend that could ease inflationary pressures.