Some positive signs on the jobs front. More jobs than expected were created in April, but the unemployment rate rose to 9.0%. Reuters:
U.S. employment increased more than expected in April as private companies created jobs at the fast pace in five years, pointing to underlying strength in the economy, even though the jobless rate rose to 9.0 percent.The NYT provides a look at the meaning of the rise in the unemployment numbers:
Nonfarm payrolls rose 244,000 last month, the most in 11 months, the Labor Department said on Friday. The private sector accounted for all of the job gains last month, with payrolls rising 268,000, the largest rise since February 2006.
The gain in overall payrolls, above economist' expectations for a 186,000 increase, was supportive of views the economic recovery would regain speed this quarter after stumbling in the first three months of the year on high commodity prices.
Friday’s numbers offered more than a few cautionary signs that the national economy had a long way to go. Though down from its peak of 10.1 percent in late 2009, April’s unemployment rate reflects only those Americans who are still actively looking for work.
And while any job creation is a positive, last month’s growth was barely enough to absorb people entering the work force in the United States, much less to shrink the unemployment rolls.
