Worked over

Hiring down & more are giving up on job searches

EMPLOYERS put the brakes on hiring again last month in a sign the economic recovery may be losing steam.

The number of new U.S. jobs grew by 115,000 in April, the Labor Department said. That was down from 154,000 in the prior month and below economists’ average forecast.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 8.1%.

While that was its lowest level in three years, it offered little consolation since the decline was largely due to people throwing in the towel on their job search.

“We’re still on the recovery path, but we’d really like to be growing at a much more rapid pace,” Raymond James chief economist Scott Brown told the Daily News.

The job market’s growth isn’t enough to chip away further at the more than 8 million jobs lost during the Great Recession, he said.

That could spell trouble for President Obama, whose election hopes likely hinge on the economy’s health.

Economists in a recent Associated Press poll said they don’t expect the unemployment rate to tip below 6% —a level consistent with a healthy economy — for at least three years.

The economy grew at a tepid 2.2% rate in the first quarter. Consumers have continued to power growth with their spending, but there are fears they won’t be able to keep it up without more jobs and bigger pay raises.

Still, the unemployment rate has declined markedly since it peaked above 10% in October 2009.

Friday’s report also offered some bright spots.

The government said about 53,000 more jobs were created in February and March than initially reported.

Economists said stronger growth early in the year, when unseasonably warm weather likely encouraged employers to hire somewhat earlier than usual, may have come at April’s expense.