Unemployment back up to at 9% + some good news

◼ The jobless rate climbed to 9 percent, the first increase since November - Bloomberg

American employers in April added more jobs than forecast and the labor market in the prior two months was stronger than initially estimated, indicating the world’s largest economy is weathering the impact of higher fuel prices.

Payrolls expanded by 244,000 last month, the biggest gain since May 2010, after a revised 221,000 increase the prior month, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate climbed to 9 percent, 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 jumped after four days of losses and the dollar rallied as the report eased concern that the economic recovery is cooling. The figures bolster Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s forecast for a labor market that is “improving gradually.”