In the clearest signal yet that the U.S. economy may be heading into the doldrums after a 6 1/2-year expansion, the Government reported last week that the unemployment rate jumped to 5.3% in April, up from 5% the previous month. The hefty increase reflected a surge of 395,000 people into the labor force as the number of jobs fell by 23,000.
Wall Street gave the report a mixed reception as economists debated whether the figures foreshadowed merely sluggish growth or a genuine recession. Bullish investors initially set off a rally Friday on the assumption that inflation might no longer be a...
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