Hiring was a huge letdown in April, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by a much less than expected 266,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1% amid an escalating shortage of available workers.

Dow Jones estimates had been for 1 million new jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.8%.

While average hourly earnings actually jumped from the March level, they were little changed year over year as more low-wage earners return to their jobs.

Total employment in the household survey rose by 328,000, still leaving the level more than 7.5 million below where it was in February 2020.

The labor force participation rate rose 0.2 point to 61.7%, its best level since August, while the employment-to-population level increased to 57.9%, its best since March 2020 but still below the 61.1% in February 2020.

An alternative measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons fell to 10.4%, down 0.3 point from March for its lowest level since March 2020.

That "real" unemployment rate had peaked at 22.9% in April 2020 as the headline jobless rate hit 14.8%.

vaccinates more than 2 million people a day, a pace that has tailed off recently but still remains strong