U.S. Payrolls Rise by 290,000, Most in Four Years

The U.S. unemployment rate rose slightly in April, yet that was good news. U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 290,000, the most in four years. The reason that the unemployment rate still rose, is that more job seekers entered the roll.

Indeed, confidence has risen for those out of work who had dropped off the roll as they stopped looking. That change in confidence, according to CNN, is why so many jobs could be added while the unemployment rate rose. Payrolls have now risen for four straight months.

They had been told to expect a rise of 150,000. In addition to the Labor Department's figures for April, the agency released revised figures for February and March which show 121,000 more jobs were added than previously reported. The number was nearly twice what was expected by CNN.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected nonfarm payrolls to rise 200,000 in April. The median number given to Reuters by the 20 most accurate forecasters was for an increase of 188,000 in nonfarm payrolls.

Private sector employment increased 231,000, also the largest gain in four years. That number rose 174,000 in March, as private payrolls have grown for four consecutive months. Census hiring added 66,000 jobs.

President Barack Obama is expected to make a statement on the unemployment numbers. That will be issued at 8 AM PDT.

Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com

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