A jobs report to be released on Friday will provide a key gauge of the U.S. economy as a sharp rise in fuel prices hammered shoppers weeks into the war with Iran. The fresh data, which details employment in April, is set to arrive as the war continues to drive up gasoline prices and borrowing costs, threatening a drag on the economy. Economists expect the U.S. economy to have added 55,000 jobs last month. The anticipated figure would mark a sharp slowdown from 178,000 job gains in March. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collected that survey data through the second week of March, before the full effects of ... (full story)