By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs in April than estimated, casting doubt over the strength of the economic recovery.
The :Labor Department said only 266,000 net nonfarm jobs were added through the middle of last month, compared to expectations for a number just under 1 million. In addition, the March payrolls gain was revised down by a whopping 146,000 to 770,000.
The unemployment rate rose to 6.1% of the workforce from 6.0% in March. Analysts had expected it to fall to 5.8%.