Employers in US added more jobs even as fuel costs climbed

Washington: American employers added more jobs than forecast in April and previous monthly gains this year were revised up, easing concern the economy is cooling.

Payrolls expanded by 244,000 last month, the biggest gain since May 2010, after a revised 221,000 increase the prior month, the Labour Department said Friday in Washington.

The jobless rate climbed to 9 per cent, the first increase since November, a separate survey of households showed. Employment was forecast to grow by 185,000 last month, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Stocks and the dollar rallied as the report indicated consumers in the world's largest economy are weathering the highest gasoline prices in almost three years. The figures bolster Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's forecast for a labour market that is "improving gradually."

Recovery taking hold

"The recovery looks to be certainly more self- sustaining," said Omair Sharif, a US economist at RBS Securities Inc in Stamford, Connecticut, who forecast a 240,000 gain in payrolls. "Businesses have more confidence in the sustainability of the recovery."

March payrolls were revised up from a previously reported gain of 216,000, and February employment increased 235,000, up from a prior estimate of 194,000.

April payroll projections in the Bloomberg survey of 86 economists ranged from gains of 118,000 to 325,000, while the jobless rate was forecast to hold at 8.8 per cent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 0.4 per cent to 1,340.2 at close in New York. IntercontinentalExchange Inc's Dollar Index, used to track the dollar against the currencies of trading partners including the euro and yen, rose 0.8 per cent to 74.785.

The economy has generated 760,000 private jobs in the past three months, the employment report showed. Overall, companies added 2.1 million jobs since February 2010, after the loss of 8.8 million as a result of the 18-month recession that ended in June 2009.

Private hiring, which excludes government agencies, rose by 268,000 in April, more than the 200,000 median forecast in the Bloomberg survey and the most since February 2006.

Among companies adding workers is Norfolk Southern Corp. The fourth-biggest US railroad is expanding payrolls as it benefits from higher shipping volumes. First-quarter profit excluding some items was $1 (Dh3.67) a share, topping the 90-cent average estimate from 27 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

More hiring

"We still have a need for additional employees for the business that we've got out there," Mark Manion, chief operating officer of Norfolk Southern, said in an April 27 teleconference. "There is a need to hire for our current business as well as hiring for the growth that's anticipated in the first — this year and on into 2012."

A separate survey of households by the Labour Department showed that the size of the labour force was little changed in April and employment shrank by 190,000. That pushed the share of the population in the labour force down to 58.4 per cent from 58.5 per cent a month earlier.

"The labour market has shown further improvement," William C. Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said in a speech Friday. "Yet the recovery remains moderate and we still have a considerable way to go to meet the Fed's dual mandate of full employment and price stability."

Approval rises

The payroll figures are a boost for President Barack Obama, whose administration is locked in negotiations with Republican leaders in Congress to reduce record budget deficits. The president's approval ratings got a lift in public opinion polls after the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Americans remained concerned about the economy, which is likely to be the top issue in the 2012 presidential election.