Hiring was a huge letdown in April, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by a much less than expected 266,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1% amid an escalating shortage of available workers.
Dow Jones estimates had been for 1 million new jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.8%.
Many economists had been expecting an even higher number amid signs that the U.S. economy was roaring back to life.
There was more bad news: March’s originally estimated total of 916,000 was revised down to 770,000, though February saw an upward revision to 536,000 from 468,000.
The battered leisure and hospitality industry saw the biggest hiring gains, adding 331,000 workers though that still left the industry nearly 2.9 million shy of where it was before the pandemic.
The report comes amid robust growth that saw gross domestic product rise at a 6.4% annualized pace in the first quarter, and as many economists see a burst of 10% or more in the second quarter.
Businesses have stepped up the hiring pace as Covid-related restrictions have been relaxed amid widespread vaccine distribution and declining cases and hospitalizations. There are signs that the pace of hiring is likely to continue into the summer, as new jobless claims last week fell below 500,000 for the first time since the early days of the pandemic.
Federal Reserve officials have been expressing confidence in the recovery’s pace recently but have stressed there is more ahead. The central bank is committed to returning to full employment that is inclusive across racial, gender and income classes, and has pledged to keep its ultra-easy policies in place even amid the rapid growth.
The Fed has stressed that even with the large employment gains, there are still millions of Americans who were employed before the pandemic who have yet to return to work.
At the same time, the Biden administration wants Congress to allocate some $4 trillion more in spending across a broad swath of areas it considers infrastructure.
While that has been happening, multiple economic indicators have shown sharp rebounds in stimulus-driven retail spending, manufacturing and continued strength in the housing market.
That activity has come as the U.S. vaccinates more than 2 million people a day, a pace that has tailed off recently but still remains strong.
This is breaking news. Please check back here for updates.
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