Employers added a disappointing 266,000 jobs in April even as the number of new COVID-19 cases stayed low, more states lifted constraints and vaccinations accelerated.
The gains fell well short of projections in a recovery that’s expected to gather force through the summer, with a million or more jobs added each month.
The unemployment rate rose from 6% to 6.1% as a large increase in the labor force — the number of Americans working or looking for jobs — more than offset solid employment gains, the Labor Department said Friday.
