Nonfarm payrolls add 244,000 jobs, unemployment edges up to 9%

The U.S. economy added 244,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in April although the nation’s unemployment rate edged up to 9%, the Labor Department said Friday. The federal data showed job gains in the service industry, as well as manufacturing and mining. An Econoday survey projected growth of 185,000 jobs for April with analysts’ estimates ranging from 140,000 to 325,000. Economists discussing the housing market earlier this week said movement in the mortgage finance space is largely contingent on broad economic  conditions, especially the unemployment situation that has dogged the recovery since 2009. There are 13.7 million unemployed Americans, which is relatively the same number of unemployed citizens reported a month earlier, and the unemployment rate inched up to 9% from 8.8%. On Wednesday, the ADP National Employment Report showed the private sector added jobs for the 15^th consecutive month in April with a gain of 179,000. Earlier this year, Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wondered what kind of gauge the ADP figures are in relation to the federal nonfarm payroll data. Write to: Kerri Panchuk