Free Republic

U.S. companies added more jobs than expected in April, but the unemployment rate rose for the first time in five months and the economy's recent slowdown is likely to keep a lid on gains. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 244,000 last month as the private sector posted the strongest employment gain in five years, the Labor Department said Friday in its survey of employers. The March data were revised upward to show an increase of 221,000 jobs, from a previous estimated gain of 216,000.