After a winter of rapid growth in the American labor market, April’s jobs numbers delivered a more mixed picture. Employers added 175,000 positions, less than economists had expected and well below the average over the last year; and the unemployment rate climbed to 3.9 percent.

“We’ve gotten so used to jobs reports that smash expectations that it was a bit shocking this morning to see one that fell short,” our economics reporter Ben Casselman told me. “But really, the slowdown shouldn’t be a big surprise, and isn’t particularly worrisome.”

Layoffs remained low and most job sectors appeared stable. Wage growth eased notably, though the unemployment rate remained under 4 percent for the 27th consecutive month — the longest stretch in more than 50 years. In fact, some economists said that the April data offered hopeful hints that the economy was headed toward a more stable footing.

“Today’s report was exactly what policymakers at the Federal Reserve have been hoping for: an economy that is gradually cooling but not plunging into recession,” Ben said.

So far, though, cooling is probably not enough to persuade the Fed to cut rates just yet. Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, said this week that policymakers would not react to small moves.