May 2 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers on the alert for possible cracks in the labor market as businesses adjust to President Donald Trump's erratic trade policy got some reassurance on Friday that so far there's little weakness, and no reason to rush on rate cuts.
U.S. employers added a more-than-expected 177,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department reported, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%. Both are signs the labor market remains in balance during a month when Trump announced the steepest tariffs in a century, sending stocks downward and convulsing the bond market before the administration paused many of those levies until July.
With the job market holding up and inflation still running above their 2% target, Fed policymakers are expected to stick to their plan to leave short-term borrowing costs where they are while they wait to see how the tariffs affect prices and economic growth.
"In the here and now, solid labor market data provides the Fed with scope for patience," said Lindsay Rosner, head of multisector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "With the forward-looking outlook having deteriorated, however, today’s data feels somewhat backward looking and the risks remain that a weakening economy could see the Fed resume its easing cycle later in the year.
After the report traders bet the Fed will wait until July to start cutting interest rates; earlier they had thought a June move was more likely.
Reporting by Ann Saphir with reporting by Davide Babuscia; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Chizu Nomiyama
