Jobs

Job Creation Much Better Than Expected; Rate Hits 9%

Published: Friday, 6 May 2011 | 9:52 AM ET

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By: CNBC.com and Reuters

 

[The numbers suggested that a good portion of the boost came from McDonald's [MCD  Loading...      ()   ], which moved to hire 50,000 workers last month.]

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Employment increased more than expected in April as private companies created jobs at the fastest pace in five years, pointing to underlying strength in the economy, even though the jobless rate rose to 9.0 percent.

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.Read the rest here.