U.S. employers cut fewer jobs in April than in the previous month, the U.S. Department of Labor said this morning, boosting hopes that the economy has begun to stabilize.

U.S. payrolls fell by 539,000, compared with a revised decline of 699,000 in March, the Labor Department said. The continued decrease in the number of jobs raised the national unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in March.

Update:  EU calls for shorter work week to create jobs.