America’s employers added just 266,000 jobs last month.

America’s employers added just 266,000 jobs last month, sharply lower than in March and a sign that some businesses are struggling to find enough workers as the economic recovery rapidly strengthens.

But as more people have begun looking for work, more people are being counted as unemployed: In April, the unemployment rate ticked up from 6 percent to 6.1 percent in March.

Oxford Economics, a consulting firm, predicts that a total of 8 million jobs will be added this year, reducing the unemployment rate to a low 4.3 percent by year’s end.

“We continue to expect that with government stimulus and ongoing vaccinations supporting a release of pent-up demand that hiring will return to a more solid pace over the coming months.”.

Construction companies added no jobs in April after having added 97,000 in March.

By contrast, restaurants, hotels, and entertainment venues — businesses that have complained the loudest about a shortage of workers — added 331,000 jobs in April, even more than their 206,000 increase in March.

In an encouraging sign in Friday's report, 430,000 people started looking for jobs in April, though not all found work, which is why the jobless rate rose slightly.

On Tuesday, at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia, customers for the indoor water park and hotel were plentiful.

David Earl who worked at Great Wolf for three years until he left to focus on his college classes just before the pandemic, was among those applying for a job Tuesday

For now, Earl, who is 27, is working at a grocery store chain but said Great Wolf pays more

He tells friends that Great Wolf is hiring, but many are still fearful about catching the virus and are reluctant to apply