WASHINGTON — The nation’s employers pulled back on their hiring in April, adding a modest 175,000 jobs in a sign that persistently high interest rates may be starting to take a bigger toll on the world’s largest economy.

Friday’s government report showed that last month’s hiring gain was down sharply from the blockbuster increase of 315,000 in March. And it was well below the 233,000 gain that economists had predicted for April, suggesting that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive streak of rate hikes may finally be cooling the pace of hiring.

Even with the slowdown, last month’s job growth amounted to a decent increase, though it was the lowest monthly job growth since October. With the nation’s households continuing their steady spending, many employers have had to keep hiring to meet their customer demand.

The unemployment rate ticked up 3.9% — the 27th straight month in which it has remained below 4%, the longest such streak since the 1960s.

The state of the economy is weighing on voters’ minds as the November presidential campaign intensifies. Despite the strength of the job market, Americans remain generally exasperated by high prices, and many of them assign blame to President Joe Biden.