Private payrolls, which exclude government agencies, rose 130,000 after a revised gain of 166,000. They were projected to rise by 165,000, the survey showed.
Factory payrolls increased by 16,000, the smallest in five months and less than the survey forecast of a 20,000 increase.
Employment at service-providers increased 101,000 in April, the smallest gain since August. Construction companies cut 2,000 jobs and retailers added 29,300 employees.
The last two months may reflect a weather-related payback. Hiring probably eased following warmer-than-usual weather that pulled forward some workforce additions into the early months of the year.
"The weather was mild in January and February, and it's very possible that hiring was pulled forward," said Christophe Barraud, an economist and strategist at Market Securities Paris LLP, who correctly forecast the payrolls figure. "This report is not good, but we have to wait for the next one to see if the real trend is actually decelerating."
Government payrolls decreased by 15,000. State and local governments employment dropped by 11,000.
Small Businesses
Evan Christou, owner of Tops American Grill, Bakery & Bar in Schenectady, New York, said at this time he has no plans to add to his staff of 42 employees. His sales were up about 6 percent earlier this year before dropping off when gas prices went up. He said he would need to see a significant increase in sales for a sustained period before hiring more workers.
"We're kind of consolidating and multi-tasking," said Christou, 49. "In this market, it's pretty much a wait-and-see attitude."
Average hourly earnings were essentially unchanged, the weakest since August, at $23.38, today's report showed. Compared with April of last year, earnings climbed 1.8 percent, matching January as the smallest in a year.