Layoffs slow to 539,000 in April; jobless rate rises (The Toledo Blade)

WASHINGTON The pace of layoffs slowed in April when employers cut 539,000 jobs, the fewest in six months. But the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest since late 1983, as many businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic uncertainties. The Labor Department tally released Friday wasnt nearly as deep as the 620,000 job cuts that economists were expecting, and was helped …