The Labor Department reported non-farm payrolls grew by 244,000 in April, well above expectations and March’s upwardly revised 221,000. The unemployment rate inched back up to 9%, from 8.8%, though the number of unemployed persons, 13.7 million, and the size of the labor force, were little changed.

Private sector payrolls added 268,000 jobs in April, offset by the downward trend in state and local government employment. In an encouraging trend, the gains were broad-based, with jobs in services, manufacturing and mining all picking up.