Private payrolls growth moderates; productivity falls

Washington

US PRIVATE employers in April added the fewest number of workers in more than a year, which could heighten worries about the economy's potential to rebound strongly from a first-quarter slump.

Private payrolls increased 169,000 last month, the ADP National Employment Report showed. That was the fewest since January 2014 and far below economists' expectations for a gain of 200,000 jobs.