Job growth surges in April to four-year high, U.S. says

Labor Department reports that 290,000 jobs were added in the U.S., indicating that the long-depressed hiring market is picking up. News may be seen as a relief to investors nervous about turmoil in Greece that is roiling the markets.

By Don Lee,
Los Angeles Times

6:28 AM PDT, May 7, 2010

Reporting from Washington

Employers in the United States added 290,000 jobs in April, the biggest surge of hiring in four years, the government said Friday.

The unemployment rate rose to 9.9% last month from 9.7% in the first three months of this year, as more jobless workers and many others reentered the labor force, seeing stronger hiring prospects.

The Labor Department's report indicates that the long-depressed job market is gaining momentum. The gains were far more than the 200,000 jobs that analysts were projecting, and the report will come as a welcome relief to investors and many others who have grown nervous about the ripple effects of the financial turmoil in Greece.

The Labor Department also revised upward the job numbers for March, saying the economy added 230,000 payroll positions that month as opposed to 162,000 reported earlier. And the nation added 39,000 jobs in February, instead of shedding 14,000.

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