Economy Adds Jobs; Unemployment Rate Rises to 9%
The U.S. economy added 244,000 jobs in April — including 4,500 trucking jobs — but the unemployment rate rose to 9%, the Labor Department said Friday.
The unemployment rate rose from two-year-low 8.8% in March, and increased because more people have returned to looking for work, news services reported.
Through the four months ended in March, the unemployment rate had fallen a full percentage point, the sharpest such drop since 1983.
The payrolls gain was the biggest since May 2010 and followed a revised 221,000 gain in March that was slightly higher than originally reported.
The jobs increase topped economists’ forecasts of 185,000, Bloomberg reported. The unemployment rate was forecast to hold at 8.8%
Private hiring rose by 268,000, more than forecast, Bloomberg reported. It was the biggest such gain in more than five years and followed a 231,000 increase in March.
Government payrolls fell by 24,000, led by a 14,000 decline at local governments.
Factory employment jumped by 29,000, more than economists’ median forecast of 20,000, Bloomberg reported. Service employment jumped by 200,000 jobs.
