WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added more than 200,000 jobs in April for the third straight month, the biggest hiring spree in five years. But the unemployment rate rose to 9 percent in part because some people resumed looking for work.
The Labor Department says the economy added 244,000 jobs last month. Private employers shrugged off high gas prices and created 268,000 jobs — the most since February 2006.
African-American unemployment rose from 15.5 to 16.1 and the the black teen jobless rate went down slightly from 42.1 to 41.6 percent.
Black women are dealing with 13.4 percent unemployment, while black males are at 17 percent.
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