Investing.com -- The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than anticipated in April, but the overall employment picture remained relatively solid, potentially impacting when markets expect the Federal Reserve to roll out possible interest rate reductions this year.

The Labor Department's closely-monitored labor market report showed that nonfarm payrolls came in at 175,000 last month, down from an upwardly revised total of 315,000 in March. Economists had predicted a reading of 238,000.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was 3.9%, accelerating slightly from 3.8% in the prior month. The figure was projected to equal March's pace. However, it marked the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has been below 4%.

Growth in average hourly wages also registered 0.2% month-on-month, slowing from 0.3% in March. The number was estimated to be in line with the previous month.

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