The unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent in April as cautious employers added the fewest new jobs in more than two years, the Associated Press reported.

A report released by the U.S. Labor Department today stated that payrolls grew by just 88,000 last month as job losses spread beyond manufacturing and construction and into retailing and financial services. Workers’ paychecks also grew more slowly.

The new tally of jobs added to the economy was the fewest since 65,000 jobs were added in November 2004. The unemployment rate, however, up only slightly from March’s 4.4 percent rate, which had matched a five-year low. Taken together the figures suggest the labor market may be cooling a bit as the national economy makes its way through a soft patch.

Even with the fractional rise in the overall unemployment rate, joblessness in the 4 percent to 5 percent range is relatively low by historical standards.