WASHINGTON (AP) — Wary US employers slowed hiring in January, pushing the unemployment rate to a four-month high of 4.6 percent and giving jobseekers a bumpy start to the year.Still, the Labour Department’s employment report on Friday suggested the jobs market remains in solid shape.

The more subdued job creation in January — 111,000 new positions compared with 206,000 in December — is consistent with the expectation that the economy’s growth as a whole will moderate. That means the unemployment rate may well slowly climb this year. “Across a range of employers’ behaviour, there is some caution. They are wondering how an expected moderation in economic activity will evolve,” said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

Analysts predict the economy will lose some speed in the January-to-March period following an energetic October-to-December quarter.

Factories, automotive companies, home builders and furniture makers all cut jobs last month, casualties of the housing slump and the ailing auto industry. Hotels and motels, clothing stores, and telecommunications companies also shed jobs.