US gains just 38K jobs, fewest in 5 years; rate at 4.7 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers drastically slowed their hiring in May, adding just 38,000 jobs, the fewest in more than five years and a sign of concern after the economy barely grew in the first three months of the year.

The much-weaker-than-expected figure raised doubts that the Federal Reserve will increase the short-term interest rate it controls at its next meeting in mid-June or perhaps even at its subsequent meeting in late July. Many analysts had expected an increase by July.

At the same time, the unemployment rate tumbled to 4.7 percent in May from 5 percent, the Labor Department said today, its lowest point since November 2007. The rate fell for a problematic reason: Nearly a half-million jobless Americans stopped looking for work and so were no longer counted as unemployed.

"The shockingly low payrolls gain in May provides further evidence that the economy is showing clear signs of slowing," said Laura Rosner, an economist at BNP Paribas.

The report also spilled into the presidential race, with the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, referring to it on Twitter as a "terrible jobs report" and a "bombshell." The figure comes just days after President Obama touted his economic record in Elkhart, Ind.