U.S. job growth slows again in April

The United States generated just 115,000 jobs last month, well below expectations and the fewest since October.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, but for a worrisome reason -- workers abandoned the labor force.

From December through February, employers added 252,000 jobs a month on average. But the figure dipped in March and dropped further in April, suggesting an economic recovery that can't seem to reach escape velocity.

The report Friday by the Labor Department indicated "an economy that is losing momentum -- especially on the jobs front," said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets.

It also dealt a blow to President Barack Obama's re-election prospects. His presumed Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, called the report "very disappointing." Romney said the country should be adding 500,000 jobs a month and said any unemployment rate above 4 percent is "not cause for celebration."

The rate has not been that low seen since the last days of the Clinton administration.

Obama, at a Virginia high school to promote a freeze on interest rates for student loans, focused on the six-month total of more than 1 million jobs created. But he said: "We've got to do more."

The 8.1 percent unemployment rate is the lowest since January 2009, the month Obama was sworn in.

Some of the slower job growth may be because an unusually warm winter allowed construction firms and other companies to add workers ahead of schedule in January and February, effectively stealing jobs from the spring.